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not believing it. >> suddenly, suspicions, but no evidence of a crime. >> any sense of a struggle? >> no. it was case closed. >> years past, new lives. two new wives. >> he's extremely charming. >> we just had the most amazing time. >> then, a new detective does solve the old case. >> their arms were in a naturally raise position. >> my first thought was, we miss something. >> the manner of death would be homicide. >> what really happened in that bedroom? >> i wanted to answer other questions. >> he did remember level whole lot about that day. >> the young mother's death was a mystery, but was it a murder? >> tell me what happened to her. to my face, don't give me excuses. >> it runs to the heart of

america. a long, meandering lifeline. feeding imaginations. the mississippi river gave us tom sawyer, and huckleberry finn. samuel clemens and mark twain grew up in hannibal, mystery. just across the river, quincy illinois, lived another larger than life character. curtis lovelace. a small town kid wanted to be a star. four-time, he was. football champion for the university of illinois. >> he's an all american? >> yeah, all american. >> this is luxury kids dream. about >> right. he >> was living the life. >> it was looking like he'd go to the nfl, and that was a dream of his. >> then he realized grander emissions. fighting crime is a prosecutor. serving his country in the national guard, and his community in politics. >> i want meaningful work, and it's going to make a difference in the lives of people. >> but it was what happened in

this little houses in quincy, to one person in particular, that made curtis really stand out. >> to continue coverage, in the court is lovelace. >> right now, the defense is presenting its closing arguments in the case. >> big dreams on a mighty river can carry you far, or they can drag you under. this is the very strange journey of curtis lovelace, all american, to criminal defender. let's roll back the years to high school, and to the woman who had become the focus of so much speculation. cory didrikson. >> cory and i went to high school together. we didn't run in the same crowd, we had some mutual friends, and we didn't date in high school. >> back then, curtis was more focused on football than dating. it wasn't until he went off to the university of illinois, roughly 200 miles away, and became a star athlete that he

really noticed a girl from back home. it was during a college break. former classmates bumped into each other in quincy, and quickly became an item. cory wasted no time spreading her good news. >> on never forget the day, i was playing tennis with a friend of mine, cory came over, met us, and that's when she told us that kurt was it. >> she went to high school with the new couple. surprise? >> not really. no. they seemed a great fit together. she was very, very much smitten. >> it wasn't long before cory was telling her mother that she had found the one. >> she comes home, we're sitting there. i've met the man i'm going to marry. whoa. >> back up. and she kept her promise. in 1991, just after college, cory include is married. he studied law, she worked a small job to support them both.

after graduation, they decide to buy a home in quincy. >> they wanted to be in the neighborhood, and they want to be close by. it just made it all the better. i found in the, house in the mood. back >> virtually over the fence? >> two houses up, and one over. >> curtis's ambition -- he became a prosecutor in the adams county state attorney's office, and dabbled in the school board politics. winning a seat, and serving as president. he even found time to teach a business class in quincy university. in between the professional milestones, beloved laces started a family. first, a girl. then, three boys. cory juggle that part of their lives. i was cory as a mother? >> fantastic. she was a great mom. there was nothing she can do for those kids. >> cory's days were filled with diapers, play dates and tantrums. but, even then, this great mom never forgot how to be a good daughter. in early 2006, her dad, john,

was done. cancer that was a major event for all of you. >> that was a major event. >> john's decline. >> four years he fought it, and the last six months of his life, she came every night, at 5:00 and set. that was her time with him. >> warren down with the stress of caregiving and raising four cakes, was it any wonder -- it was the weekend before valentine's day, 2006. >> she was feeling poorly >> feeling poorly, how? >> flu like some dumb's, throwing up. we thought she had the flu >> on monday, the night before valentine's day, cory still managed to get the kids valentine's cards ready for school. her daughter lindsey, remembers cuddling up with her mom, watching the winter olympics, and snowboarder, sean white.

>> i remember watching him with her, saying, mom, he's so cute. as a 12-year-old, that was awesome. >> it wasn't that she was bedridden like that, she was just feeling crummy. >> she was feeling sick, and even for my mom, that was not common. even if she was sick, she did what she thought was expected over. she would take care of, us do laundry because that was a role. >> when tuesday, valentine's day dawned, curtis says the or to take it easy. >> we decided that i would cancel my morning class at quincy university, in order to get the kids to school. >> that is going to be on deck. it's gonna be dads time to get everybody run up and running. >> right. so, i council my class, help the kids get ready for school, she did come downstairs to help out with that. >> he says cory was so ill, he

had to help him back to bed, before driving three oldest kids to school. backpacks up with valentine's cards. within minutes, he was back. only the home, still clouded with clothes and toys was now filled with something else. silence. quieted enough to break a family's heart. >> coming up, what's happened in that house? >> as i got closer i immediately knew that something was wrong. >> so wrong, that it teared aboard a family, and puzzled police for years to come. >> every detective needs to keep in mind that there could be a bigger picture. >> when dateline continues. when dateline continues

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with cory sick in bed, it had been up to curtis to get the kids to school. now, he was back.

>> when i arrived home, everything was quiet. i assume that cory was sleeping, resting. she had is that most of the night, i was going to leave our home and literally. >> before looking it non her, he went over his emails in the kitchen, then he headed upstairs. >> i needed to take a shower, and as i walked up the steps, i look to the left. the door was as i left it, and i could see her lying in bed. i could see something from the distance, it didn't seem right. >> we'll made you say that? >> i'm really not sure. as i got closer, i could see that she was pale she, was motivational us. i immediately knew that something was really really, wrong. >> do you think, she's dead? >> i shook her, i called out

her name, and at that point, i knew that she was dead. >> in that moment, his thoughts turn to his four year old boy, larson, who was still in the house. >> i needed to get larson out of the house. >> what did you do? >> i grabbed larsson, i believe he was in bed, and i took immediately over to his grandparents house. >> cory's mom, marty, answer the door. she remembers or son-in-law standing there with a young boy, and saying something nonsensical about her daughter being dead. >> it was morning and, there he is, he opens the door. he has me larson, and he says that people are coming. i often wrote credit not putting larson down, and heading over there. >> i get a phone call from my

mom, it was out of the blue, i don't think anything of. it >> how could that, be 38 years old, right? >> yeah, igs are a couple weeks. go >> detective with quincy little police department was assigned to head the definitely investigation. when he arrived to the scene he went straight upstairs, he was in the bedroom -- >> he tested or body temperature by placing her hand against wraps him in, they followed. suit >> was the body warmer cold? >> it was warm. one of the tele-corner? >> he knew that the time of death was was narrowed, for the body to still be warm. >> it seemed clear that cory's death had been recent, within the past hour or so. not at all certain why, or how the woman died. the detective couldn't rule out any possibility, including foul play. around the room itself, any signs of struggle? >> no. >> as i hear you, you're

telling me that you're seeing a woman who apparently died in her bed. and, not that long before authorities arrived? >> that's right. if i can stress that there wasn't a single mark on her, other than what appeared to be a skin blemish. >> and yet, there was something about cory's body that did strike him acid. he thought death in gravity would've caused arms to drop, instead they were both fixed in midair, hovering above her chest. >> i was looking for an explanation for, that and i even addressed it to curtis lovelace. i asked him if there was a possibility that blankets had been under her arms when he discovered her. >> would he say? >> no. >> he said no. he said the scene that you saw, was the one that he saw. >> yes. >> but then, the detective was not going to get hung up on one

strategy. tell >> every detective needs to keep in mind that they're there could be a bigger picture. >> and, oh yes, there was. a portrait of a woman, a marriage filled with details, painted in the most unflattering light. >> coming up, a peek behind closed doors. you are drinking too much? >> i drink too much. >> cory would bring to? much >> kaori was doing too much. >> and the daughter mourns your mom. >> i just remember crying, and not believing it. >> when dateline continues. alice loves the scent of gain so much, she wished there was a way to make it last longer. say hello to your fairy godmother alice and long-lasting gain scent beads. try spring daydream, the quincy, illinois detective now part of our irresistible scent collection.

was trying to understand why a 38 year old woman had died suddenly. as he looked for clues inside the home, filled with the clutter of young family life, jeff barry, notice one item in particular, a white cup by her bedside. >> i collected an unknown liquid that smells faintly of alcohol. >> the detective asked her husband, when it was. >> did he tell you that she liked to have a pocket on it? >> yes. >> and that's likely woes in the styrofoam? >> yes. >> big 24 ounce glass. >> yes. >> as curtis told him, alcohol it been a constant in the home. >> there was alcoholism in her family. so, there was this ugly side of that. >> you are drinking too much? >> looking back, yes. i drink too much. >> cory was drinking too much?

>> cory was drinking too much. >> it was impacting her ability to take care of things at home. >> he also told the detective that cory had been taking -- sometimes out of bed. once more, detective also found of the corey had been battling bully mia. the picture quickly emerging, corey had not been a healthy woman. i know you guys or listen to the words of the subject is telling, you but you're also looking at them. why is he telling me, this -- >> is very important. i saw a man who is answering my questions. >> not being evasive and shifty? >> cooperative, solemn, upset. >> curtis also reach rest his family steps, that morning. >> he last saw his family around 8:15, took the kids to school, he returned and founder deceased. >> with that, the detective finish the interview and left, but curtis knew that is awful day was about to get worse.

he had folger jim, ranging in age from 4 to 12 to look after. >> how did tell the children? >> that was -- i think, to this day, that is the most difficult thing that i've ever had to do. i believe i called the schools, and let them know that i would be on my way. >> lindsey, the only girl was the eldest of the loveless kids. >> i remember being in school, i remember getting a call from the office that i was getting picked up. in my mind i thought, maybe my mom went to the hospital. it's fun. >> but, once inside the principles office, her father broke the news. >> he told me that my mom had died. i just remember from then on, my world crashing down. >> did you say, what's it happened, what's going on? >> i'm sure asked what happened. i just remember crying, and not

believing it. so, we left and we went to my grandma's house. i was like, i want to go back to school. and i did. >> and you did, on the day you lost your mom? >> it was a normalcy thing. >> in hindsight, she says, maybe the best thing she could've done. her favorite teacher had something for her. >> she actually had wolf pops. she had a friend who was carrying wolf pups. i'm pretty sure, they were orphaned, as well. >> when a jumble of things going on. >> that was the most comforting thing i could've done, was holders wolves. >> by then, news of cory love laces untimely death was ripping a closs town. students from the business law class were the first, outside of the family and authorities, to suspect that something it happened. >> his glass was all outside of his classroom, waiting for him to come. >> one of curtis's students, erica, was surprised to learn that professor lovelace's class had been canceled. later, she learned why. >> everyone was in shock.

she was a very young 38 year old. she seemed healthy, from what everybody understood. so, it was a huge shock. >> must be sad that your professors wife had died. you did know her. >> i didn't know her. i also didn't know him at that time. >> soon, everyone in town was wondering what caused cory's death. the pathologist who performed the autopsy a day later, noted some trauma. small abrasion on corey's upper lip, and another mark inside, that appear to be a cut. curtis mentioned that cory had fallen, in the days before her death. those false as they described, could've kept that injury, presumably? >> i wish i knew. but, yes. a fall could've found for an injury. >> the pathologist also noted that was called a fatty liver often caused by heavy drinking. still, the doctor labeled the cause of death, undetermined. >> she didn't know what killed

this woman. >> that was frustrating. she does find a disease of the liver which can be associated with sudden death. >> unusual for a young woman to die of unknown causes. but, it does happen. without more to go on, the detective close the case. cory's mother still in shock, could barely bring himself to read the autopsy. >> cory was drinking, we don't deny that. she was billy mick, and i did try to talk to curtis about that. he told me that it was all okay, and it was going to be fine. >> now, as shimon cori, marty knew her suffering would only deepen. her husband john was dying. >> we had a visitation for cory, and jon sat next to me, it was like he was saying goodbye to friends, to. he didn't come home from the hospital. >> both those losses, one right

on top of the other. >> yes. >> within the span of a month, marty lost a daughter and husband. she purchased two burial plots at the local cemetery, even though cory's remains cremated. that was a choice curtis said the entire family together. but, the decision to cremate would be one that would haunt this river town for years to come. >> coming up, -- >> she was different than anybody i've enervated. maybe in some ways, that difference intrigued. me >> curtis moves on. much too fast for some. >> she arrived as a girlfriend. i think it was too quickly. >> when dateline continues. when dateline continues,... ♪ ...it's time to make a stand. start a new day with trelegy. ♪...and i'm feelin' good. ♪ no once-daily copd medicine...

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the fda has decided to wait for more data on pfizer's three dose trial, for children under five. before deciding whether to authorize the vaccine for that age. but results now expected in early april. the u.s. is ordered an additional 3000 troops to

poland, bringing the total number in the region, to an estimated 5000. the decision is meant to pressure nato allies, rather, reassure nato allies that they'll be protected as russia continues to amass forces in ukraine, and invasion appears imminent. now, back to dateline. we >> for many, years he had been the guy in town that people looked up to and admired. curtis lovelace, football star, school board president, suddenly a pitiable widower, who needed help. >> it was overwhelming. people didn't come forward, friends and family. helping to get kids to school, so that i could also go to work. and then, picking them up. >> it's a lot. >> it's a lot, but we came together as a family and it will we needed to do. >> the longtime friend -- curtis was stoic in the week

after cory's death. but, one time she noted that is the mask slip. it was at a high school reunion, later that summer. >> they were doing a video montage, and cory's picture came up. he turned around, looked and said, hey, that's my wife. >> it was times like that that made me really think that -- grieving husband. >> that's why, a few months later, she and other friends were surprised to hear that curtis had met someone new. that was fast. >> she was different than anybody i had ever dated before. maybe in some ways, that difference intrigued me. >> she was erica. as in, the former student who prefer -- that fateful valentine's day morning. >> he's extremely charming. anything that i needed, or wanted, he could take care of, and he did. >> at the time this interview took place, erica asked us to

alter her appearance -- to protect our privacy. she began a story by starting saying she's a 33-year-old -- 37 year old professor at a nightclub, not long after cory's death. a fish out of water, she thought. >> i felt really bad for him. so, i gave my number. i told him that there are places you can go that there is people more his age, because i thought he was a lot older than he was. >> he stood out that club? >> quite a bit. >> but, not long after, pity blossomed into friendship, and then love. they started dating about six months after cory's death. erica and her daughter from a previous relationship, eventually moved in with curtis in his four children. >> it was nice that my child tucked in with the rest of them. all of us fell into place. >> that's not the way curtis's daughter, lindsey soy.

>> when did you think of her? >> we did not get along. >> from the get-go? >> from the get-go. she arrived as a girlfriend. and that's just how it was. did i think it is too quickly? yes. but, adults make their own decisions. >> in fact, lindsey was so unhappy with her dad's girlfriend, she picked up and moved in with her grandmother, cory's mom, just a few doors down. after nearly two years of living together, curtis and erika married. she admired how he coached local kids in sports, and devoted spare time to his community. eventually, they both served together in the national guard. he had an outstanding. resume >> he did. >> this is all american boy. >> i love the fact that he was on the school board that was where my profession was leaning, and i loved that he worked with children. he was -- he seemed to be great with children. >> they even bought a new place in town together, and move from the house where cory had died. there was domestic tranquility,

at first, but eventually, erica says she saw a change in the husband. >> he detached once in a while, from the whole family. i was kind of love to myself, and he would hide in the basement, and blame it on work. >> she says that there are mutual science separated them. then, resentment exploded in lab confrontations. it just wasn't working. >> i believe, looking back, that was a rebound relationship. a relationship that i should have not done, not only for me, but more importantly, for my children. >> in 2013, after five years of marriage, curtis filed for divorce. now, you might think that he would've been gun-shy about jumping into love again, but not curtis. >> it was surreal, and lovely. >> this is christine, she had known curtis since high school. he even took her to the homecoming dance. marriages and career separated them for time. >> it was odd, because i wasn't

prepared for any kind of relationship, and i wasn't looking for anything. >> where were you in your life, christine? were you single? >> yes, i was single. >> after reconnecting on, facebook the former classmate society catch-up, face to face, for the first time in nearly three decades. there he is at the door. when you see? >> i see kurt lovelace, my senior high school day. then, we spent that evening with friends, and before we knew, it everybody else had gone. we had the most amazing time. >> i was meeting, in many ways, the same person who i took to homecoming. just more beautiful, more interesting, and more kind than i had ever remembered. >> it just worked. >> more than six months later, the day after christmas to, thousand 13, curtis was once again standing at the altar. only, this time, the new mrs. lovelace seem to have approval from everyone. even 20 year old daughter,

lindsey. who packed up at the arrival at her father's last. flinch >> she seemed very feminine -- >> did you think that this could be the restoration of the family? >> i did. >> after the nightmare of erica, here's christine, who seems okay. she certainly making an effort to reach out. >> yeah, i felt like our family deserves happiness, at that point, after everything we've been through. i was hoping that it would all pan out okay. >> and it did go okay. christine kept all the lovelace is running like a swiss train schedule. kids off to school, while curtis worked at his own law practice. christine, meanwhile, put on her bakers apron. >> i opened an actual pie shop, that was making 100 times a week. i was selling out of pies before 9:00 in the morning. >> this wasn't just a little hobby to keep busy? this was a growing concern. >> absolutely. >> once you go to pi? >> i love blueberry. but, i make a mean gooseberry

-- you name, and accurately do it. >> after years of turmoil, it seemed the love laces were reborn. lindsay was back in the family fold. christine had even adopted curtis's sons as our own. everything was working. but, darker souls way for the train wreck, just when things are looking all hunky dory. turned out, that train was hurdling down the track. >> coming up, a new detective leads to new suspicion. >> what jumped out at you? >> most definitely that her arms were in a race position. >> and the start of a new investigation. >> in this particular autopsy, there were things listed as suspicious or traumatic findings. >> my first thought was we, miss something. >> when dateline continues. miss something miss something >> we're on your corner and in your corner

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slip by, and corey lovelace's death split further into the past. her mom already -- >> i would sit in the cemetery by myself, for a while. i don't do valentine's day. >> cory's husband, meanwhile, had remarried, divorced, and remarried. again in all that time, no one really question the why or how of corey's death. but, all that changed one day, when a man in a windowless room,

a few blocks off the mississippi, found himself with spare time on his hands. >> i was sitting in my office, and all over files were on computer. >> it was late 2013, almost eight years after cory's death. adam gibson, a new detective with the co-and see police detective, pulled up cold files. >> not looking for anything in particular, just regional cases. cory love lays popped into my hand, never read the report. >> the naming anything to you? >> yeah, a new curtis lovelace. he was, at one time, one of our assistant state attorneys. >> there wasn't much to read in the file, truth be told. a statement from curtis, the husband. police interviews with the three older children, and the pathologist summary of rossi findings, with some photos. so you knew would happened in 2006? >> yeah, i knew she had passed away on valentine's day of 2006. >> what was the medical examiner's findings? >> that it was undetermined.

that was there was no autopsy. >> would that mean to you? >> undetermined could mean a lot of things. in this particular autopsy, there were things listed as suspicious are traumatic. >> for instance, the report mentioned that abrasion on corey's face, just under her nose. something the arriving officer had observe that day. the pathologist also noted the cut, that she called a laceration on the inside of her upper lip. the detective kept scrolling, and then saw something that just stopped him cold. an electrifying image. the police photos of the dead wife and mother, as she lay in her bed. what jumped out at? you >> most definitely that her arms were in an unnaturally race position. >> the hands in a natural way. >> her hands defied gravity. >> not supported? >> no. >> just kind of out there like a statue? >> yes. >> using police photos from the scene, we created this graphic representation of corey's bedroom. you can see cory's arms frozen

and death above her body. that final pose it caught the detective's attention, years before. a curiosity, but he didn't -- now, adam gibson did. regret mortise? >> yes. in my opinion. >> the mechanics of rigor mortise collect this, upon death, a humans muscle start to stiffen. but, to the detective, it looked as though cory's arms and hands were in an advanced state of order, meaning she likely that many hours before this photo was taken. remember, curtis said he tucked his sickly wife into bed, only an hour before finding her dead. it didn't make sense of officer. detective gibson went straight to his bobs with the old loveless file. >> my first thought was, we miss something. >> chief robert cope lee had been in charge into the, 61 everyone assume that cory had died, unnatural death. he says he never saw the photos that detective was not holding before him. >> that's when i saw the picture for the first time.

>> what did you think? >> i thought, this is odd. this is not. natural the posture of the arms definitely appeared to be -- i look at those pictures and i can't believe that we accepted a undetermined cause of death. >> detective gibson agreed some notes from a medical examiner, from eight years before, and a few photos. >> and only two slides. so, very thin file. >> police went back to the doctor who did that autopsy, and asked or to review the case. she did, but she would not alter her original findings. the next step might have been to order a new autopsy, but that was impossible. since, corey's remains were cremated. the only option was to work with what they had. detective gibson had a

suggestion. >> he wanted to have the autopsy reviewed by somebody else. basically, a review of the original autopsy. couldn't do a new autopsy because of the cremation. >> the chief okay the request to hire a new pathologist to review the old autopsy notes. the detective also had something else in mind to beef up his case. talk to anyone and everyone who knew cory. his first call was to her mom, marty. he told me that he wanted to meet but, not why. >> he said, can we set up a time? i said, scratch what i'm doing. come now, because i was so nervous about what it was. >> everything old was about to be new again. new, and very unsettling. >> coming up, the thing that struck me first was the position of mrs. lovelace's arms. >> a different medical examiner reaches a different conclusion. >> the manner of death would be

homicide. >> a detective has a question for curtis's daughter. >> tuesday morning, before you went to school, would you remember? >> when did you think was happening? >> i didn't know. >> when dateline continues. didn't know didn't know >> it includes the compassionate healthcare professionals, the dedicated social workers, and the supportive peer counselors we work with to help improve - and even change - people's lives. moving from mental illness to mental wellness starts in our circle. this is intra-cellular therapies. what can i du with less asthma? with dupixent, i can du more....beginners' yoga. starts in our circle. namaste... ...surprise parties. aww, you guys. dupixent helps prevent asthma attacks... ...for 3!... ...so i can du more of the things i love.

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hard to move on, after her daughter there's sudden death in 2006. but, after a phone call in a visit from detective adam gibson, in early 2014, she started to wonder. >> a lot of things are shoved away. one of them was why cory had died. did >> you ever expect that there might be foul play? >> no. >> friends of both curtis and cory also started getting calls from the detective. beth dobriansky remembers his message -- >> when i called detective

gibson, and he said were reopening the case of corey, i was shocked. i was shaking. >> did the detective? -- >> which, she admitted, was a mauve. bat and other close friends that cory didn't really talk about her marriage. so, the detective did something that nobody else had done on this case, he started knocking on doors, talking to cory's former neighbors. >> all the neighbors talked about how there was constant arguing fighting. >> you're getting a picture of what was going on, that wasn't in focus in 2006? >> right. >> the detective went to step further, he got in his car and drove more than 100 miles to the university of iowa, to talk with someone who would've been an eyewitness to the loveless marriage. >> i'm adam gibson. >> nice to meet. you >> omitted active -- >> okay. >> lindsay lovelace, curtis inquiries oldest, was in college, after mom's alma mater, when she was summoned to the campus police department, to talk with detective gibson.

>> i was very confused by someone from quincy a driven. they're >> the quite should not follow didn't clear things up, at least not at first. the detectives are talking about her late mom, and asking about her parents marriage. >> how was your parents relationship? do you remember? >> they would fight. it was an interesting relationship. there were times that we were the perfect family. we do fun family stuff but then there were times where i was woken up by my parents fighting. >> for the first time, someone's idlest family was revealing the truro boyle before corey's death. then, the detective asked lindsey to describe that tuesday, in 2006, when a mother 's body was found. >> tuesday morning, before you went to school, would you remember? >> the answer seemed to take the air out of his theory of the case. >> she was up and walking around. she had made breakfast. i don't remember what we had, but she had made breakfast. she was helping us get ready for school, because we had our

valentine's day boxes. >> the young woman, candid about her experience troubled marriage was nonetheless supportive father's account. cory had died minutes after seeing her children, off to school. not hours earlier as the detective suspected. if he'd been disappointed in lindsey's answer, he didn't show. it but he did make a request that caught her off guard. >> if you do talk to your dad, the only thing i'd ask is that you not discuss the factor that came to talk to you. >> would you think was happening? >> i don't know. especially when he said don't tell your father that i was here. >> was that mean? >> i went back to where i was living, and just sat there, and thought, what is going on? then it slowly hit me. >> she realized the detective, for whatever reason, suspected her father had something to do with the sudden death. even so, she kept her promise and didn't tell her father about the visit. in the meantime, detective gibson was waiting to hear from dr. jane turner, the assistant

medical examiner for the city of st. louis. he had hired her to review that old autopsy. >> the thing that struck me first, just looking at the scene photographs, was the position of mrs. lovelace's arms. >> she says the photo show cory's body in full rigor. mortise like the detective, they believe the -- were out of sync. >> i estimate the time of death was somewhere 10 to 12 hours, prior to her photograph being taken that morning. somewhere around nine, ten or 11 pm, the night before. >> in other words, the night of february 13th, not the morning of february 14th, as curtis claimed. something else bothered her. turner -- as though something under cory's arms was removed. >> why were her hands not resting on the surface? whatever that object was, that

her hands had been resting, on why wasn't it there anymore? >> turner noted the abrasion on corey's, face and the cut insider upper lip. to her, that suggested something had been pressed against the woman's mouth. >> then, seeing the marks around the mouth, and inside the mouth, all suggests that suffocation occurred. >> suffocation. an abrasion, and none except a time of the no longer. fifth turner was convinced that cory had not died of natural causes. she concluded, someone who's an object, likely a pillow, to suffocate the woman. left it under her arms, and removed it many hours later. >> the manner of death would be homicide. >> for the detective, corey lovelace's death came down to two competing -- from two compelling women. when will add on science to explain the murder, the other relied on memory, to describe an ailing mother, just before she passed. in the end, the detective

believe the science. he believed that a crime had indeed been committed. now, they had a problem back at the quincy police department. there were two officers who had conducted very different investigations of the same case. >> detective gibson, you believe this was a homicide? >> i did believe. that >> officer barrett, you believe this was of natural causes? are you divide on the fundamental issue? >> i am now uncertain. from what i've heard, and have been told, under the new investigation. much more uncertain than i was in 2006. >> their boss, backs both men. he says, if there's going to be had, he'll take it. >> you hate to admit that mistakes are made and, i want to say that i'll take full responsibility. i was chief in 2006. i had detectives, when -- >> did you get a pass because he was a member of the community? he was a big shot guy. >> i don't know if you got a pass, i think he may have got

the benefit of the doubt. >> on a warm, august morning, that benefit would evaporate, along with a peaceful feelings of a lazy summer day. christine lovelace had been at a new, shotmaking pies all morning. curtis was meant to stop by with lunch. >> i just knew that he was going to be there, and i had a notion that he was going to bring the fried chicken. lunch came and went. >> no court? >> no court. >> a few blocks away, curtis had just stepped out of his law office. he was, in fact, on his way to the pie shop. >> as i was walking to my car, there was a gentleman in a suit waiting for me. >> it was detective gibson. he was armed with an indictment from the grand jury. he was there to arrest curtis for the murder of cory loveless. he said what? >> the only thing it's -- in 2006. would you >> think that? >> that's not the reaction that i was expecting at all.

>> then again, curtis level is never sought coming. >> told me to put my hands behind my back, and put me in handcuffs. >> what was going on? >> i didn't know. i remember hearing murder, i remember hearing him use the word wife. i was not aware that there was an investigation. >> you are totally blindsided? >> totally blindsided. >> blindsided, because nobody had really question cory's death before. even the police concluded that she died of natural causes. back at the pie shop, an increasingly anxious christine got a phone call, it was somebody from a local tv station. >> he said, i'm holding a piece of paper in my hand, it's an indictment for the first degree murder of kurt and cory lovelace. i immediately said, what? cory was a murdered. >> give me a word, that in your life. >> horrifying. >> i was listening interrogation room immediately.

>> curtis lovelace had a crucial choice to make, either talk to the detective and try to clear this up, right then and there, or, would be -- >> coming up >> i don't remember anything significant about the night before. >> you show the two of you went to bed together? >> yeah, i believe we did. >> i have a problem with you not remembering all of those things. >> when dateline continues. things things >>ckpot. variety pack. remember, it's a football game, not a play date. roger that. one more slice. it can be a lot. oh, good, the manager. ecoming your parents, but we can save you money when you bundle home and auto with us. -pulls to the left a little bit. -nope.

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seven years after the mysterious death of cory lovelace, police have reopened the case. her husband, curtis, who had remarried twice is the prime suspect. returning now to "mystery on the mississippi." curtis had seen plenty of

in-tear gags videos in his career. but now for the first time in his life he was the one in the hot seat. silent, you understand that? >> yes. >> anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law, and you're a lawyer. and you know the number one rule is you do not talk to the police without having a lawyer present. >> i -- >> but you talk? >> but -- but i talk. i wanted to answer all their questions. i thought that they wanted to know the truth. >> she indicated she didn't feel well. >> reporter: on that valentine's morning, curtis said cory was still nursing that bad cold or flu. >> i walked back upstairs with her and she climbed into bed. >> reporter: he described leaving the house, then coming home only to find his wife dead in their bedroom. >> she was cold and -- and stiff. i just recall her hands being out or something like that. >> reporter: and yet many other

details surrounding his wife's death seemed to elude curtis. >> but no, i don't remember anything significant about the night before. >> you said the two of you went to bed together? >> yeah, i -- i believe we did. you know, it's been a long time i guess it's possible i would have left, slept on a couch or something. >> you said you took the kids to school? >> again, i believe i did. it's been so long. >> ironically he didn't remember a whole lot about that day. >> reporter: couldn't even remember whether he in fact, took the kids to school that day? >> right. i just would have thought that finding your wife dead in bed would have left more of an impression on ya. >> reporter: to the detective, curtis was trying to look helpful without really being so. gibson cut to the chase. >> did you smother cory with a pillow? >> no, i did not. >> reporter: did you and cory

have a bad argument, curt? did it get out of hand? did you snap and then put a pillow over her nose and mouth and suffocate her? >> no. no, i -- there -- there were no bad arguments the night before. um, it's -- it's exactly what -- what i've told detective baird in 2006. and what i told detective gibson in 2014, and what i'm telling you now. that -- that is what happened. she was sick and i came home and i found her that morning. and she was dead in bed. >> reporter: it was clear the detective's strategy hadn't yielded what he wanted, a confession. >> i have a problem with you not remembering all of these things. >> reporter: the lawyer's goal of talking his way out of trouble hadn't exactly worked, either. even after he agreed, curtis says, to take a lie detector test. in a short time, he was swapping out his buttoned downed shirt and leather loafers for a very different courthouse look. jail house black and white stripes.

coming up -- >> you went into your mom's room and she was in her bed? >> yes. >> are her kids the key to a father's freedom? >> they saw their mother alive that day. >> when "dateline" continues. that day that day >> when "dateline" continues but if you don't have the right auto insurance coverage, you could be left to pay for this... yourself. get allstate and be better protected from mayhem for a whole lot less. super emma just about sleeps in her cape. but when we realized she was battling sensitive skin, get allstate and be better protected from mayhem we switched to tide hygienic clean free. it's gentle on her skin, and out cleans our old free detergent. tide hygienic clean free. hypoallergenic and safe for sensitive skin. when i get a migraine, i shut out the world. but with nurtec odt that's all behind me now.

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>> reporter: curtis lovelace could not believe how his world had fallen apart. one minute he was quincy's fair haired boy, the next, he was being interrogated by police for killing his first wife, cory. >> on my side of the bed when i found her dead. >> reporter: meanwhile, christine was in a panic for two reasons. her husband had just been arrested and now she was looking for her sons. >> i found out that all three boys were at the police station. >> the boys were down there? >> they had been taken out of school and held in isolation earlier in the day. >> reporter: they were just 17, 15 and 12-years-old at the time. all alone at the police headquarters. once christine found out they were there, she rushed to the station. >> what were the kids told? what'd they think was going on? >> they actually thought that something had happened to me.

>> i walked into the room and they got up and they all -- um -- were very scared and um -- they hugged me and i told them everything would be okay. we'll figure this out. >> reporter: detective gibson had rounded up the boys because he was looking for more information. >> i'm looking into the death of your mom from 2006. okay? >> uh-mm. >> reporter: the detective started to question them about the last days of their mother's life. >> so you went into your mom's room. >> yeah. >> and she was in bed. >> year, we would wake up every morning and then i would go into the room and watch our show. >> do you know what time that was? >> no. >> reporter: larson the youngest son was not interviewed by police back in 2006 because he was only 4 years old. now he was telling detective gibson he wasn't sure if his mother was alive that morning. he said he only remembered getting out of bed and going to his mom's room. but she didn't answer him.

>> i just remember like going into the room and then she wouldn't wake up and i think it was valentines day. >> uh huh. >> yeah, dad was gone, came back and i told him, yeah that she was not waking up. >> reporter: but the two older boys said they did remember seeing their mom that morning. this is lincoln, the middle boy. >> i just remember like waking up and like -- i remember her not feeling good and i was sitting on the stairs and then i went to school. i think i remember saying i love you before we left but that's pretty much it. >> reporter: logan, the eldest son, said he knew for certain that his mom was alive that february 14th. >> she was sitting on the steps, like, ready for us to leave the house. >> reporter: christine was still trying to find her husband. she didn't know he had been transferred to a different jail. eventually, he called.

>> he told me everything would be okay. and that we were gonna have to -- to fight some things. >> reporter: christine was a wreck. her husband was in jail and she was dumbfounded as to why the police had taken the boys out of school and then interviewed them without parental permission. she felt better about this though -- the two oldest boys backed their dad's story they had seen their mom cory alive valentine's day morning, just like curtis said. >> they saw their mother alive that day. the -- >> and that's -- that's the gist of their story. yes, i saw her alive that morning -- >> yes. >> when dad took us to school. >> uh-huh. >> so there-- >> it was valentine's day. >> so therefore she couldn't have been dead upstairs and -- >> right. >> dying and rigor mortis setting in. >> right. >> because we saw her alive. >> uh-huh yes. >> reporter: the boys' sister lyndsay, had also told police two separate times her mom was alive that morning, had seen her off to school on valentine's day. >> she was standing in the front hall like marching us out the door like she always did. >> reporter: on the day of her

father's arrest, lyndsay was away at college when she had an emotional talk with her brothers. >> talked to 'em on the phone the day he got arrested. and they passed the phone around and they were sobbing 'cause they were scared. hold on. hold on. and they asked me to come home, and that was the last thing i ever said to them -- like, ever talked to them. >> reporter: that's when another tragedy unfolded within the lovelace family. around the time of curtis' arrest his relationship with his daughter once again deteriorated. the family doesn't want to get into details but soon lyndsay found herself cut off from her brothers, too. >> i had been shut out, completely shut out. >> well, you knew the charge against your father and the theory of the crime -- that he had put a pillow over your mother's nose and smothered her. that's a stark image to deal with. >> it's something i didn't ponder, and i chose not to ponder. >> reporter: though a jury would soon be pondering curtis' guilt or innocence. in august 2014, the 45-year old former assistant state's

attorney found himself standing in a courtroom. this time as a defendant at his own arraignment. >> having to appear in a courtroom that i had served as a prosecutor, and dressed in -- in stripes and -- and having my -- my hands and my feet shackled. those were some really some low times. >> reporter: married just eight months wife number three's commitment "for better or for worse" was immediately put to the test. >> my husband, who is kind and caring and compassionate is charged with something so heinous that it makes no sense. >> reporter: if convicted, curt lovelace could spend the rest of his life in prison for the murder of his wife cory. as if that weren't enough stress, his daughter lyndsay was about to drop a bombshell. coming up -- a daughter's difficult decision.

>> i don't know what's in lyndsay's head and in her heart. one day she was happy then everything changed. >> and a mother recounts what she says was curtis' bizarre behavior the day her daughter died. >> i open the door and he hands me larson. >> and says? >> "oh, and by the way, cory's dead." >> when "dateline" continues. >> when "dateline" continues

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hoar is what is happening. the white house is asking americans to leave ukraine immediately ahead of an ever more likely russian invasion. intelligence officials indicate russia has amassed 80% of the forces needed to take over the neighboring country. and jake sullivan says russia could advance into ukraine before the olympics end. and meanwhile president biden is scheduled to speak on the phone with vladimir putin saturday morning. now back to "dateline." morg now back to "dateline.

>> reporter: curtis lovelace was the hometown hero. now his face was plastered on the front pages of quincy's newspaper as an accused murderer. >> we're relying on scientific -- >> the media, including our quincy nbc affiliate were all over the story, covering nearly every second of his fall from grace. >> he's accused of killing his first wife -- >> reporter: this former prosecutor would himself be prosecuted by ed parkinson. >> you can't get around rigor mortis in my opinion, and make sense of this case. and the timeline doesn't make sense with curtis lovelace. >> reporter: in january 2016, nearly a decade after cory lovelace's death, curtis arrived for the first day of his trial. he faced 20 to 60 years in prison upon conviction for first-degree murder. he pleaded not guilty. cameras were not allowed in the courtroom. >> it's clear to me -- it didn't matter what i did. as far as the prosecution was concerned.

their only concern was that they needed to create a crime and they needed for me to look bad in order to do that. >> reporter: curtis didn't necessarily need prosecutors help to "look bad." some of his own actions the day cory died were at the very at least unusual. including never calling 911. >> reporter: he called who? >> his boss. >> reporter: his wife is dead in the bed? >> yes. >> reporter: and he calls his boss? >> yeah. and -- said, "my wife is dead." so his boss, said, "well, would you like me to call the ambulance people?" "yes. would you do that?" >> reporter: cory's mom, marty didriksen, who lived just a few houses away, testified that curtis broke the news of her daughter's death in what she thought was the most callous way. there was a knock at her door and curtis was standing there with 4-year-old larson. >> i open the door and he hands me larson. >> reporter: and says? >> "oh, and by the way, cory's dead." and leaves. >> reporter: marty, i've gotta say, i think that's very strange. take your grandson and, by the

way, your daughter's dead. >> he was emotionless, let's put it that way. people who saw him that day claimed that he was without emotion. >> curtis also knew cpr. and yet, he never tried to revive his wife. >> reporter: on the day, why didn't you do cpr? >> i don't know. i don't know why i didn't do cpr. i don't know why i -- i didn't call 911. in looking back -- i -- saw my wife, cory -- dead. and i didn't know how to react. >> reporter: prosecutor parkinson next went after the first police investigation. pushing hard against detective baird who handled the case. he questioned if baird gave curtis who was then an assistant state's attorney, preferential treatment. >> he was a prosecutor. they were the police. he gave 'em a story that he -- how it happened. they bought into it. after all, he's one of us. >> reporter: so maybe tougher questions didn't get asked.

>> i think so. >> reporter: neighbors testified the lovelace household was sometimes a stormy one. and that, parkinson suggested to jurors, is the backdrop of cory's death. >> they fought all the time. it was a rocky marriage with lots of arguments going both ways. and it got out of control. and -- maybe the evidence indicates that placing a pillow, over one's face to make them stop yelling at me. maybe in her weakened state, if she was -- had flu-like symptoms, maybe it went too far. >> reporter: the state's theory, remember, is the force of the pillow caused that cut and abrasion on the outside and inside of cory's lip. the prosecutor then implied the pillow was placed under her arms after she died and later removed. >> if you leave it there through the night, and while rigor mortis is setting in, and then if a person is thinking, "oh, my god. what did i do?" and, "oh, there's that pillow in

her -- i'm going to get rid of that pillow," then the arms are already up. >> reporter: and you think that's what happened? >> yes. >> reporter: but then came, perhaps, the most anticipated testimony for the prosecution. lyndsay, curtis' own daughter, took the stand. two times, over a span of eight years, she told police her mother was alive that morning. >> she said she had felt better. >> reporter: but on the stand, with her dad's life on the line, she changed her story. telling jurors she was no longer sure her mom was alive that day. >> don't remember any of it. >> reporter: but it doesn't stick in your memory? >> nope. >> reporter: and yet, detective baird's notes, you do tell him the story about seeing your mother. and then with the videotaped interview with detective gibson, you seem quite clear about that morning, and yes, you saw her and went off to school. what had happened in the interim between your statement and going into trial, on the stand, and then kind of stepping back from all of that? >> it was the fact of no one had honestly asked me, sincerely, what had happened that day. and i had never taken time to actually think about it. i -- >> reporter: well, detective gibson did, a couple of years before, when he took your statement, right?

>> but it -- again, i didn't know why he was askin' me. i didn't know what was going on. and i gave the story i always gave. so when i had to sit there and think about it, i had to be honest with myself. and it wasn't the answer i wanted. i wish i could say -- i really do wish i could say, yes, i remember her, or, no, i know i didn't see her. >> reporter: but you cannot say that? >> but i cannot say that. >> reporter: and this is not you getting back at your dad who you're very sideways with, at this point? >> no, because it hurts my -- >> reporter: he needs that story and you're not gonna give it to him? >> no, because it hurts my brothers, too -- for me not to honestly say, yes, i saw her. but i'm gonna say what i can remember, which is nothing. it's a black hole. it's a traumatizing event. and when kids go through traumatizing events, they block things out. and losing my mother was the worst day of my life. >> reporter: how are we to understand what's going on with -- with lyndsay, christine, because she has told the story that -- she, like her brothers, remembers seeing her mom alive, but then she backs away from it and says, "i think -- i can't

remember really." >> i don't know what's in lyndsay's head and in her heart. one day she was happy and then everything changed. >> reporter: the prosecution still had to explain why the two oldest boys were adamant their mom was alive that morning. parkinson told jurors there was a two-day gap between cory's death and the first police interviews with the kids. ample time he suggested, for the boys to be influenced by their dad. >> i think the children were confused as to which day. after all -- >> reporter: how about coached? do you think that he told him a story? >> he had custody of the children from the moment of her discovery until thursday afternoon. so from tuesday till thursday afternoon, i don't know what was said. >> reporter: dr. jane turner, the pathologist detective gibson hired to review the case, took the stand and said science is where the truth lies. she concluded the most reasonable explanation for cory's arms appearing to levitate, is that cory was dead up to 12 hours before police arrived on the scene.

>> i -- viewed this material and reviewed it with the eye of a scientist and -- and what we know about the development of rigor mortis. >> reporter: what would a jury believe, science, or the words from two of cory's own sons? cory's brother, a dentist, found himself struggling over the conflicting facts. >> science is my living -- you know, it's -- i have to believe in that, but i also have to, you know, believe in the family at the same time. so i'm completely torn. >> reporter: i've never seen a more difficult case, more closely argued. and there doesn't seem to be middle ground to -- >> there's -- there's none. >> reporter: parkinson urged the jury to focus on the science and one image. cory in her bed, her body in rigor mortis. he said it proved she'd died hours before curtis claimed. it proved he was lying. it proved, he argued, that curtis killed her. coming up -- the defense gets its turn and christine is feeling optimistic. >> i knew in my heart he was coming home. >> until -- >> christine came in.

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>> reporter: the defense had a simple message for jurors: curtis should not be on trial. that's because there was no crime and this was not a murder. it said the state's case was built on faulty science. >> i've stated repeatedly in this matter that there's no physical evidence to prove that he murdered his wife. >> reporter: veteran pathologist dr. george nichols created the office of medical examiner for the state of kentucky back in the 1970s. now, as a defense expert, he told jurors rigor mortis is not an accurate indicator of time of death. and he added: where is the evidence cory fought for her life? there were no signs of struggle and only the cut and abrasion on her lip.

>> you will fight until you no longer can. the thought that somehow you could suffocate someone with a pillow and there would be only one dental mark is ludicrous. >> reporter: detective baird testified that when he first arrived on the scene cory's stomach area was still warm. how is that possible, the defense asked, if she had died up to 12 hours earlier? >> if the body is warm to the touch, my common sense tells me, not science, that this is someone recently deceased. >> absolutely. >> is there an error in that assumption? >> no. >> reporter: as far as the prosecution's contention that curtis killed cory after a heated argument, the couple's oldest son testified he didn't hear anything like that the night before. and he should know, because his room was right next to his parents. it was even connected by an extra door that was usually left slightly opened. >> she was all sick and i was like, "i'll stay home with you" and she wouldn't let me stay home. >> reporter: the two older boys, unlike their sister, stuck to the story they told police.

>> did she ever get out of bed. >> yes, i think she did. >> reporter: if jurors believed them, it blew apart the prosecution's timeline that cory was murdered the night before. >> they said the same thing that they had told baird in 2006 and detective gibson in 2014. >> reporter: and the defense had its sights on detective gibson. they claimed in 2013, he was an over-eager, newly promoted detective, primarily assigned to work crimes against seniors. this was his first murder case. >> he transferred from k9 officer to elder service officer. and around the same time he went to a one week course on being a lead detective in a homicide case. and he embarked on this investigation that led to my indictment. >> reporter: finally, the defense's medical expert concluded there was only one plausible explanation for cory's death. she had a history of drinking and falling and that caused that abrasion and cut. the bottom line: she was an

alcoholic and bulimic suffering from a liver disease, someone who unfortunately died of natural causes. >> she's not a normal 38-year-old woman. she has a significant disease of a major organ that is associated with sudden death and with liver failure. >> reporter: in the end, curtis decided not to take the stand. ten women and two men would decide lovelace's fate. the deliberations went on for two full days. then, christine got the call to come back to the courthouse. >> and i knew in my heart he was coming home. >> that was it. you were gonna prevail. >> he's coming home. yes. >> reporter: but once she arrived, bailiffs led her to a small law library. >> christine came in. and they explained to her for the first time what was about to happen, that the judge would declare a mistrial. >> curt was sitting across. he said, "i'm not gonna be able to come home tonight," and --

and i lost all my air. it was terrible. >> reporter: the jury was hopelessly deadlocked. the vote six guilty, six not. curtis would face another trial. since he couldn't make bail, he'd remain in jail, unless -- >> a deal? a plea deal? >> they had offered a second-degree murder plea. but i knew it was a decision not only that i had to make, but we had to make as a family. and i didn't know whether i could put them through another year of what we had already gone through. >> reporter: that's when one of curtis' lawyers turned to

christine. >> he said this can all end right now if curt agrees to take this deal. he said it would keep him from dying in prison. >> but he'd have to admit his culpability, responsibility in cory's death. that's the condition, right? >> correct. and that he wouldn't have to spend probably any more than 13 years in prison. >> reporter: the two said "no thanks" to the state's offer and geared up for a second trial. but that forced them to face another dire reality: they were totally broke, unable to afford another lawyer. >> what are we going to do? i mean, at that point, it -- there didn't appear to be any option. >> this could be a moment for christine to say, i'm out of here. i didn't sign on to be some tammy wynette for this guy, standin' by her man. i'm gone. >> yeah. and who -- who could -- who could blame her if she would have done that? but that's not who she is. >> reporter: it looked as though curtis would have to use a public defender. but christine wouldn't accept that option.

she worked her connections and eventually ended up here in chicago. >> she came to our office and told us her story and i remember finding it compelling and certainly worth exploring further. >> reporter: jon loevy is not a criminal lawyer. he's a civil rights attorney by practice who also does pro bono work with the exoneration project. its aim: overturn wrongful convictions. but curtis hadn't been convicted, at least not yet. still, loevy and co-counsel tara thompson decided to take the case. their services would be free. >> the main concern that i had in this case from the outset was really the lack of evidence. this didn't feel like a murder case from the beginning. >> reporter: with a new defense team in place, christine got working on her next goal: making bail to get her husband out of jail. friends eventually put up the cash. almost two years after his

arrest, curtis was released to his wife and sons. >> they greeted me at the hancock county jail. and i came home to a dog that i had never met. and for the first time, got to be back in my house and back in my home. >> reporter: but it wouldn't be home sweet home for long. while curtis and mrs. lovelace number three waited for the next trial of the alleged murder of mrs. lovelace number one, the judge ruled that mrs. lovelace number two could testify against her former husband. and what a story she had to tell. coming up -- erika, out of disguise, and on the stand. >> he ripped my shirt. and then he let me go and he tried to grab me again and i kept on trying to fight him off. >> when "dateline" continues. >> when "dateline" continues [ doorbell rings ] oh! there's my little nephew.

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>> reporter: curtis lovelace was

a local celebrity. or at least so infamous, according to his new defense team, that he couldn't get a fair trial in his hometown. a judge agreed. so trial number two was moved from quincy to springfield, illinois -- >> all rise. >> reporter: -- about two hours away. >> the defense is going to come up here and try to portray the defendant as a pillar of the community. that's a facade. >> reporter: david robinson would join ed parkinson for the prosecution. this time cameras were allowed in the courtroom when the trial started in march, 2017. >> our houses were about 15 feet apart from each other. >> reporter: as in the first trial, neighbors testified they often heard arguing from the lovelace home. this woman lived next door and says she heard shouting almost every day. >> essentially for the entire time that we lived there. so six years. >> as i walked by the house i heard an argument, a loud

argument. >> reporter: another neighbor testified she heard cory and curtis really going at it and on a specific date, the night before valentine's day 2006. she happened to be out for a stroll. >> it actually -- i -- did cause me to pause. i guess i was listening to see if somebody was in distress. >> reporter: the prosecution's theory this go-round on how cory died remained the same. after a heated argument, the night before valentine's day, curtis suffocated his wife with a pillow in a fit of rage. he then waited up to twelve hours before police were called. >> come over here and have a seat please. >> reporter: and once again science would play a leading role in the prosecution's case. but prosecutors had a new witness. a star forensic expert. >> i have also testified before the house of representatives. >> reporter: in a 64-year career, dr. werner spitz has consulted on the jfk and martin luther king assassinations, as well as in other high-profile cases

including those of phil specter and casey anthony. >> the appearance of the injury leaves no doubt that this is not a healing wound. >> reporter: in a darkened courtroom, spitz showed photos and talked about that cut inside cory's mouth. curtis had told police his wife had fallen in the days before she died, his explanation for that injury. but this expert said he saw no signs the cut was an old one. >> there's no evidence of healing. so this looks like at the time it was incurred. >> reporter: the abrasion on the outside of the lip and the cut inside indicated to spitz that an object, like a pillow, had been placed on cory's face shortly before she died. >> this is not an accident, this is not a natural death, this is not a suicide, this is a homicide.

>> reporter: then came testimony the first jury never got to hear, and it was explosive. for this trial, the judge allowed erika gomez, wife number two, to testify. remember when we interviewed her, she wanted to protect her identity. but now on the witness stand, she could no longer be shielded by a disguise. >> he violently attacked me. >> reporter: prosecutors called the ex-wife to the stand to try to show that curtis had a history of violence. she recounted one incident she says happened at home during their marriage. >> he had started probably drinking at about 9 am. and we had been arguing about kids. he came rushing at me and tried to grab me. tried to hurt me. and grabbed my shirt, and he yanked it up really hard, hard enough to injure my knee. he ripped my shirt. and then he let me go, and he tried to grab me again and i kept on trying to fight him off. >> reporter: then erika told the jury another shocking story. she said curtis had been

drinking at a party. and later that night, he blurted out something she found disturbing. >> he's rarely honest except for when he's been drinking. and he was upset about something, and i asked him what he was upset about and he stated something about. "she was writhing underneath me" and then he said, "oh, the black cat." >> reporter: as strange as that story sounded, the prosecutor took it to mean this. curtis wasn't talking about a cat, but about cory's last minutes of life, as she struggled while curtis smothered her. >> erika had a story to tell. there's one particular quote that came out and he says, "i could hear her writhing beneath me." >> yes. that was evidence. she gave -- >> and it sounds as though he's talking about killing his wife at that moment. >> that's what we thought it sounded like, and she testified to that under oath on the stand that "i could feel her writhing beneath me. "and that's pretty much what would've happened if suffocation was occurring."

>> reporter: the prosecution believed its evidence against curtis was overwhelming. "not so fast," said the defense. that's because it had some things up its sleeve. a new piece of last-minute evidence. and what an interesting nugget they had found. coming up -- tough questions for erika. >> someone made that up. someone put those words in there my signature should be there, anybody can redo this. >> and bombshell testimony. >> did you know when you decided to pursue this investigation that the arms had been moved? >> i did not. >> i did not

we told the judge we weren't going to talk. >> curtis lovelace was putting his hands in the life of his new attorney who took on the defense for free, had more than 20 years of experience, just not in criminal law. >> was this your first murder

trial? >> it was. i did a battery criminal defense case right out of law school. other than that, this is basically my first criminal defense case. >> curtis was taking a huge gamble. on the other hand, since he was broke, he didn't have a lot of options. >> cory died of massive liver disease. >> in his opening remarks, he said the state hadn't presented any evidence of murder for one reason, there was no murder. >> medical evidence will prove to you that she died as a result of an acute sudden onset condition brought on by her alcoholism. >> one of the defense's key goals was to debunk the damaging testimony of curtis's ex, erika, he had violently attacked her and ripped her shirt. one of the first defense witnesses was major larry fuller with the illinois national guard. >> i asked her if she wanted to make a sworn statement, a formal sworn statement in writing. she said, yes, she would. >> erica filed a domestic violence charge with the guard since curtis at the time was still active.

the major was appointed to look into the charges. he testified as to what erika told him. >> she started backing up while backing up she fell. he went down to pick her up. he said he struck her in the chin as he was reaching for her in the shoulder. >> you say the word accidentally. >> that was her words. >> she reported curtis accidentally hit her. she didn't mention anything about curtis ripping her shirt. after conducting an investigation, he concluded her charges were unfounded. >> there was nothing there to actually lead to a domestic violence finding. >> armed with that information, the defense confronted her with her own statement, but she said the document used in court was a fake. >> someone made that up. someone put those words in there. my signature should be there. my signature is not there. this is typed. this isn't written. anybody can redo this. >> then the defense did something unusual. it asked erik about other

accusations she made about curtis and she had a laundry list of complaints. >> he knows how to forge paperwork. he used my social security number to try and steal money out of my account. he knows how to get rid of evidence. he stole my daughter's bicycle out of the garage. >> at one point, an overwhelmed erika asked for a time-out. >> can i get a break, please. >> but erika wasn't folding. she blurted out another allegation in court against her ex. >> he was poisoning me. there was -- my hair was falling out. there were white lines on my fingers. i was extremely sick. >> erika claimed curtis tried to poison her and her daughter. she told police he likely put something in their orange juice, but according to the defense, there was a problem with that charge. erika never sought medical care. >> isn't it true, ma'am, you never went to a doctor and said, i think i'm being poisoned. >> it wouldn't have mattered. >> when erika left the stand what do you think the jury made of her? >> i think they were shocked the state called her.

when she was subjected to cross examination, she wasn't a credible person. >> there was one other theme he wanted to drill into this jury, and it concerned the lead detective. adam gibson he argued had gone pathologist shopping, that is, he consulted a series of pathologists before find him one to give him the answer he was looking for, that, yes, cory's death was, in fact a murder. >> if my opinion is not what he wants, he's going to be going looking for somebody else. >> this doctor was one of the pathologists gibson approached. her opinion, detective gibson wanted her to call this a homicide. when that was not her conclusion -- >> he had a theory and he was looking somehow to substantiate that theory. >> original pathologist, the original coroner said there was insufficient evidence to find the homicide. he got other pathologists said there's nothing unusual here, you're barking up the wrong tree. >> then came even more damaging accusations against gibson. the defense said it obtained at

the last minute documents that was supposed to have received from the police but never did. potentially exculpatory evidence. >> you understood this e-mail, didn't you? >> it was not something that i thought of, no. >> one e-mail was from a medical expert. he warned detective gibson that if the first pathologist left the cause of death undetermined that opinion would trump anyone else's and that would give plenty of reasonable doubt to a jury. >> this e-mail should have been turned over. >> i believe so it should, yes. >> you didn't turn it over. >> i did not. >> the prosecution's case appeared to be teetering. then came another blow. william ballard was one of the first emt's on the scene. he wanted to place ekg stickers on cory's body to check for a heartbeat so he moved her arms. >> her arms were down against her chest. i had to pull them up to check for a pulse, check for any

rigger mortis and to also move her arms up to place the stickers where i'm supposed to place them. >> he moved cory's arms before the police photos were taken. that means her arms were not in the same position as seen in the photographs, the ones that started this entire second investigation. the defense seized on that fact. >> did you know when you decided to pursue this investigation that the arms had been moved? >> i did not. >> is this the first time you're hearing that today? >> the arms had been moved prior to the pictures, yes. >> because basically your investigation took off because you believed that the arms were in a position that was suspicious, right? >> yes. >> come up and be sworn. >> a final surprise. for the first time, the defendant, curtis lovelace took the stand. he insisted he wasn't a violent man. he never harmed his second wife erika and certainly did not kill

cory. >> i did love cory. and i know the kids loved her. it's been difficult. >> the defense wrapped up its questioning with an emotional curtis telling jurors of the enormous toll the two trials had taken on him and his family. >> how long have you been dealing with this? >> it's been two and a half years. >> whenever you're ready. >> on cross-examination, the prosecution pointed out that a whole bunch of witnesses and facts in this trial would have be to wrong for curtis to be innocent. >> sounds to me like you're saying erika is lying, the detective gibson is lying, marty is lying and the science is lying. do you agree? >> it's up to them to decide who is lying. >> after seven days of testimony, curtis lovelace's trial had come to an end.

the jury began deliberations. remember, the first panel was deadlocked 6-6. >> let me ask you this, have you reached an unanimous verdict? >> but this go around the jury was out about two hours before it came back with a decision. >> we the jury find the defendant curtis t. lovelace not guilty. >> 11 years after cory's death, two and a half years after curtis' arrest and two jury trials later not guilty. >> two-hour verdict, murder trial, what does that tell you? >> that tells me that they were absolutely convinced that curt was innocent. >> that's not how prosecutor ed parkinson sees it. >> so does the system work or does a guy get away with murder here? >> sometimes it works. i think my partner in the prosecution said you're looking at a guy who you think might have got away with murder. i feel bad because i think we're right. >> how do you feel right now. >> the legal consequences for

curtis are over, the fallout from cory's death paralyzed the extended family. >> i don't know what to believe anymore. >> now a teacher, the daughter remains estranged from her father, but she hopes to salvage something despite all that's happened. a relationship with her brothers. >> i just pray everyday and hope that one day i'll get a call, a text, a message, an e-mail, something from one of them. >> cory's mom, marty. >> did you come to an opinion about what role, if any, he had in cory's death, curtis? >> those are tucked here. i have kept my mouth shut for a long time. i'm going to keep it that way. >> curtis says the state offered increasingly attractive plea deals before the start of the second trial. but he turned them all down. he has since filed an 11-count lawsuit against the police and the city of quincy. the suit alleges malicious

prosecution and argues curtis' kids were falsely imprisoned during those police interviews. summary judgment was granted in favor of the defendants in regard to the emotional distress claim but allowed the case to move forward on all other counts. the family has moved out of quincy and curtis has opened a new law office in champaign, illinois. >> couple requests that we go ahead -- >> both he and christine are starting exoneration-type organizations. they say they want to help others wrongfully accused or convicted. >> what happened to you guys in this whole thing, do you think? >> i don't know what happened to us, dennis. we're still figuring that out. these kinds of things happen across our country everyday and now i think we have an obligation to share this story and to help other people. >> your goal was to leave that courthouse an innocent man? >> yes. i believe looking in the eyes of that jury, seeing, you know, tears from some of them how quickly that they came back that

they were declaring to me and to the world that i'm innocent. >> curtis lovelace, a life interrupted. interrupted. i'm craig melvin. >> i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline." >> it's been extremely hard. >> hardest part is the crime. >> a mother at work in her office murder. >> someone just let her die. >> are you sure she was dead? >> she is a very professional woman dead. >> police start to dig. her new fiup a say. >> he's like, i have to move on.

>> it was very