and just gonna say -- fred rogers is smiling now on you from heaven. on that note, i wish you a very, very good night. and a wonderful weekend. from all of our colleagues across the networks of nbc news, thanks for staying up late with us. i'll see you on monday. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> my mom was hysterical, my mother was crying as well. >> gone, dead, murder. >> the bill have any problems with? anyone >> he had an affair a couple of years ago. >> he believes that there is this lady out there. >> someone starts tapping on the window. >> i see the guy for a weekend, and now he's murdered, and he's coming for me. >> there was anger around those that did not go away. >> why is this happening? who did this? >> did you shoot your dad? >> why would you out? that >> would actually happened that night? >> i'm not sure you want me to

respond. >> says why beat your head around it? >> it could be horrible stuff. >> i couldn't fathom this. >> how much can one family bear this much? >> how do you contain horror? if this happened to you, where would you put it? in a box? would you carry with you everywhere? an anchor? chain to your soul? the box is full of demons. would you live in dread of the day you knew you'd have the pride open and look inside. >> i'm box full of ghost of my past, to confront it goes like that you have to be ready.

>> where would you put it off, would you wait till next year? >> i move from state to state, and that box followed me with me. it followed me. >> of course it did it was his past. inside a box. >> and now, here he was prying it open, will he ever be the same ones he looks in there? >> it's a story, it's a story of a family. and this case is the story of my family. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> here, more or less, is where the whole thing takes off, garvey montana, deep in the veteran valley, the town conceived and inequity born in crime, some government manual long ago. maybe so. >> i mean, diabolical highly begins to describe it.

>> people do crazy things. >> it's just such a waste. such a beautiful family. >> it was june, a sunny sunday afternoon, when a woman called 9-1-1. >> my name is anne stout i just got home either something wrong with my husband. there is blood, and his eyes are all bruised, and he's colds. >> is he breathing, and is he breathing? >> the ambulance well down local highway 93, and then up to west fourth bitterest river. >> you want to try cpr, and? >> i can't, i can't. >> tortoise collection of homes perched like supply cans aboard at tracker peak, on board the ambulance was -- >> as an empty or paramedic, you get this adrenaline rush

when you get a call. and you are thinking about all the things that you can can possibly be faced with. >> don't hang up on me. >> i don't want to wait here. i don't know if somebody is in the house, or what. >> for that reason, the woman on the line, anne stout, said she'd driven across a broad green meadow to the neighbor's house to make the call. she told the crew that the call was a possible code black, meaning, possibly the person was dead. but you still don't know when you're walking into. >> as the ambulance approached the house, don's partner suddenly realize something. >> she said, you know this must be bill stout's house. >> i said who's bill stout? and she said, remember ben? it had been a big thing in the community. >> indeed. about which, or later, but just

then, memory snapped to attention and so they couldn't help but wonder. >> i don't want you to insinuate anything, could this have possibly been a suicide? >> what happened when you got to the house? >> we walked in the house and my partner went to the left and i went to the right. i get almost to the laundry room and my partner says, donna in here. >> here was a bedroom at the east end of the house. there was something, someone, under the covers. >> she was on one side of the bed and i went to the other side of the bed. she said, he has raccoon eyes. and i said, okay, and so the comforter was kind of hiding his head a little bit -- >> you saw the body in the bed? >> i lifted the comforter back and you could see, obviously, it was a gunshot wound.

>> did it look like a suicide? could it have been a suicide? >> that was my first thought was that, he shot himself. because the way he was laying in the bed. >> as the ambulance crew backed out of the house, investigators arrived in forced to look at the body in the bed. county attorney, bill. >> there was definitely some appearances that made us think that it was a suicide, things unraveled pretty quickly after the detectives got the scene under scene. >> was there anything about the body that told you anything? >> you could tell that his body had been moved. bills body clearly had been rearranged. >> after death? >> after death, yes. >> how could they tell? there was blood, a lot of blood. dried on his skin but not in the places where blood would be. unless, somebody rolled him over after he had been dead for

a bit. then of course they're worth a bed linens which didn't make sense at all. >> there's a pillow that's partially covering his head which struck everybody as odd, if this was a person who committed suicide. there were blood spatters on some of the bed linens that the controller had been put over -- >> gotcha. >> and when you analyze it up close, it was a very straight down spatter, you could tell whether blood is coming at an angle, straight on to a surface, what angle, it leaves a different impression. that blood had come straight down, and yet there was a comforter covering that part of the bedsheets. >> and finally, after all that complicated analysis by trained professionals, there was this. >> it was a pretty obvious thing right away that the handgun was not around bill's body. >> no gun, not in the bed, or

anywhere near bill's body. clearly this was not a suicide. >> that became apparent very quickly, correct. >> somebody killed the guy? >> correct, killed by the hands of another. >> hands of another? such a loaded phrase. coming up. turned out bill's murder wasn't the only high-profile death in the stout family. >> i'll never forget crying on my bed thinking that my life is never going to be the same, my heroes gone. >> and later, fright in the night. >> someone starts tapping on my window. >> wow! when dateline continues. ateline continues. crazy commutes... crowd control- have a nice day alex (thanks ms. ellen) ...taking the stairs. that's how you du more with dupixent, which helps prevent asthma attacks. dupixent is not for sudden breathing problems. it's an add-on-treatment for specific types

of moderate-to-severe asthma that can improve lung function for better breathing in as little as two weeks. and can reduce, or even eliminate, oral steroids. and here's something important. dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. get help right away if you have rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor about new or worsening joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines, including steroids, without talking to your doctor. are you ready to du more with less asthma? just ask your asthma specialist about dupixent.

i know there's conflicting information about dupuytren's contracture. i thought i couldn't get treatment yet? well, people may think that their contracture has to be severe to be treated, but it doesn't. if you can't lay your hand flat on the table, talk to a hand specialist. but what if i don't want surgery? well, then you should find a hand specialist certified to offer nonsurgical treatments. what's the next step? >> noah stout, slim and strong, visit findahandspecialist.com today to get started. loved to run. was a cross country man. gonzaga university in washington state.

that summer, home from college, he'd taken a weekend trip with old friends and returned on sunday. with a nightmare waiting. >> my mom was hysterical and my brother was crying as well. hearing your dad is gone. and you're like, what? what do you mean he's gone? >> did they tell you he was murdered? >> i don't think they use the term murdered right away. like he'd been shot. >> noah knew more than most the ways grief can drag a family down. though it had begun, the stout family saga, so well. bill, his apparently murdered father, had grown up in california. farm country, central valley. it's where he met and married anne. adopted her little boy, ben. noah and matt soon followed and they idolized big brother ben.

anyway, their dad, bill, was a tradesmen. a dry wall installer. that's how he met mark and denise ecker. >> we had a downturn here in construction during the mid 90s. and he would take the family, load up the three boys and anne, and he would start driving to montana after he got off work, on a friday. bill wanted something else. and he found what he was looking for on several trips up to montana. >> found it here. outside the town of darby. plucked down years and years ago. a few miles as the crow files from the montana, idaho border. jenny was a reporter around here. >> it's a really beautiful place, i think, that attracts a diverse group of people. you have retirees and young families. >> then there is kind of another side to the police, to, right? >> right. there's an interesting group of people in the west. i think that prefer to live on

the boundary of wilderness. >> and in this side of the place, bill bought 20 meters on the road and built this house with its very own hands. you remember anything about them? >> i wasn't pleased about it. so, i was a strong dissenter in our move. some of my earliest memories were of my dad telling bedtime stories about montana mike, who would all these adventures. when he moved there, he said, he was going to be montana mike. he was telling the stories as much to himself as he was to me. it was always his dream to live somewhere -- i think he felt unencumbered. felt free, i think. >> and bill was happy. content. he did all of the things montana men did. >> you look in the dictionary, there's bill. there's montana. that rugged, handsome, quiet, hunter, the fisherman. >> bill put up dry wall around the valley.

and anne worked at a gas station and later, a long term care facility. >> anne put so much of herself into raising those boys and having, making a happy family life. >> those boys were gentlemen. bill would tell me how proud he and anne we're of the greats that the kids had. academically, they were killing it. >> until, ben was 18. he'd been away at college. was home on winter break. and one awful day, he left an obscure note on the fridge and walked into the woods and killed himself. his death, that first family horror. now, just a page in a file, in a box. but noah? noah was just 11 and felt responsible, somehow. >> i will never forget crying on my bed and thinking, my life is never going to be the same. my hero is gone.

and for years, i still deal with that. i think about ben every day. >> did you know there was pain there? did anybody in the family know? >> i think my parents recognized. i don't know what made them think about it, but they sought counseling for him. ben was an artist, he was in a rock band. that his outlet for his pain. i saw copies of his poem that i would read. >> for years i would have these nightmares i'm trying to carry my brother. and i just can't carry him. i don't know what it is but -- in so many ways one of those things that chases is guilt. i think that i couldn't save my brother and i wanted to. >> nothing was really the same after that. >> there was stress that piled on to my parents as a result of my brother's death. >> marriage does come under enormous strain when a child passes. especially when a child dies in that way.

it wasn't their fault. >> ben had a challenge that he felt he couldn't overcome and he chose to make a decision that was entirely his own. >> mark ecker suggested counseling. bill's answer was unyielding. >> oh, no. now. no. we're good. so, it was kind of that pack it down inside and maybe we can deal with it some other day. >> but now? seven years after the day of ben's suicide, on the same property. bill was dead. >> i couldn't fathom this. gone. dead? murdered? none of that seemed real. >> oh, but it was. >> did your mind going anywhere in particular? >> i mean, this is not something that happens in a small town. right? two high profile deaths within a few years. they were my family. that house. how is this happening? >> how, indeed. what's the old adage? start close. there were sheriffs deputies

coming to the door. coming up -- a town with eyes everywhere. >> i got the best cameras you could get. >> what did they see? >> and hard questions for the son. >> did you shoot your dad? >> why would you ask that? >> when "dateline" continues. then paying him right there on the spot. we'll drive you happy at carvana. flo, you're here. this pipe just burst on me. well, you bundled home and auto with progressive, so you have round-the-clock protection on all your stuff. like that cardboard tv. i told props to switch that out. okay, everyone, that's a wrap. [ bell rings ] wait, you faked this whole thing? i knew it was the quickest way to see you. i'm sorry, jon, but i'm already in love with insurance. you know that's weird, right? well, any weirder than faking a burst pipe? got a little carried away. yeah.

got a little carried away. i was injured in a car crash. i had no idea how much my case was worth. i called the barnes firm. >> a setting june sun, long and when a truck hit my son, i had so many questions about his case. i called the barnes firm. it was the best call i could've made. your case is often worth more than insuran call the barnes firm to find out i could've made. what your case could be worth. we will help get you the best result possible. ♪ the barnes firm, injury attorneys ♪ call one eight hundred,est resul eight million ♪

lazy was busy playing with colors as a flock of investigators settled in the house with their propping eyes, and endless questions. >> the questions were like, would anyone want to hurt your dad? my dad, again, was a very kind person. very introverted, didn't know a lot of people to make them angry. >> so, said noah, said bill's friends, no one would want to kill him. >> we would sit and talk and say how could this happen? was the house broken into? how much can one family bear? >> as they look carefully at bill's body, his wound, his bed, investigators were focused on more specific things. they would get to who did it, sure, but first, a question that just might lead them there. what time did bill breathed his last, in his bed, before a bullet ended his life? >> when the detectives and the coroner first arrived, what was the estimated amount of time

that bill had been dead? >> when they first arrived, there was some indication that he had been dead, i believe it was 8 to 10 hours at that point. >> so if they arrived at 5 pm, most likely that morning. >> morning, correct. >> that morning, all day, bill had been alone at home. and and their 16-year-old had spent the whole day in missoula, shopping. they both told a detective, bill must have been kill soon after they left. >> what was bill doing when you left? >> oh, he was still in bed sleeping. >> they confirmed. >> we left the house at about eight, 8:15, 8:30. >> and alibi if investigators could confirm it. but, who would've seen them, way out here in rural montana? you might be surprised. >> you put him at the right place at the right time.

>> this is larry rhodes who has proudly wore the batch for more than three decades as martial of derby, population 800. larry's office, right here on main street, is a cowboy movies fever dream. animal skins, old-fashioned jail cells, just like time stopped at about 1880. >> i try to keep it as western as i can. >> but then, walk over here to the desk in the corner, that is a town wide very sophisticated surveillance system. >> i got the best cameras you can get. >> their video cameras everywhere. cameras peering from flowerpots, store fronts, platter barrels. how many cameras? 60, i asked. then, more than that, said the marshall. he is always watching. >> he monitors, speech through the main street of derby, it is often a useful tool during

investigations. >> kind of unusual for a little town like derby? >> it's a little unusual. >> if the marshals cameras hat verified that they had driven up to missoula that morning, maybe they would be in the clear. >> matthew and i just planned, the night before, to just go first thing in the morning and do things in missoula. >> and sure enough, there were an and matthew, driving bills red truck through derby driving to missoula, 8:30 am. once there they had breakfast at ihop, where and placed a call to bill, and got his voice mail. >> we're having breakfast right now at ihop and then we're probably gonna hit costco last, so if you can think of more stuff that i need to pick up, call and let me go. talk to you later. love you. by. >> and said they went on to make several stops, walmart, the mall and so on. later in the afternoon, as promised, costco, where again she tried to call bill.

>> i haven't heard from you yet so, you must not need anything, call me right away. goodbye. >> the marshals cameras show them heading back through derby on the way home at 3:40 pm, just as they said. >> we walked in, and we were just putting things away, and i was yelling for bill. and it was really quiet, so i didn't think anything of it. i figured he had gone somewhere. >> at about 40 minutes after no bill showing up, and opened the door to their bedroom. and -- >> he was in bed. and, he didn't look like him. >> and then, said an, panic set in. >> my mom yelled. we left the house and we called 9-1-1. >> so matt backed up his mom story about what they did during that day, their movements, their timeline. >> yes, they had gone to missoula and done various errands, correct.

>> she's telling the truth. >> yes. >> still, investigators had to ask the obvious questions. >> do you have anything to do with the death of bill? >> no. i love bill very much. he was very important to my life the way it was. i had had enough bad things happening in my life, and he was always the stable person. >> matt, on the other hand, said things that were a little surprising. >> would you say you love your dad? >> i did. i mean, well, i just didn't really feel like there was much love for me. >> did you shoot your dad? >> why would you ask that? >> well, i need to know. >> no, i did not shoot my dad. i mean, why would i shoot my dad? >> okay. well, see, i don't know, if there are answers, i need to hear them from you, there is a wonderful woman in there that

needs to know. >> i don't know. i honestly don't know anything about it. >> okay. would you suspect that your mother would? >> i don't think so. i mean, occasionally, they didn't really, like, have, they've had their little things, you know? >> they, little things? that was certainly true. the untold story, maybe not so little. coming up. >> someone's out there, and i am terrified. >> a late night visitor. who, for some reason, is targeting noah's father? do you remember what you are thinking? >> like, what did you do? >> when dateline continues. teline continues into space? welcome to the club. i've been putting people into spaces for years. millions of people into millions of spaces. and that must be why apartments.com is the center of the rental universe.

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dead. across the state, multiple agencies, involved in search and rescue efforts with the nearly 300 rescues conducted thus far. the house, debating, and passing legislation friday, banning assault weapons for the first time in 18 years. house democrats chair the bills passage, along party lines. the bill heads to the senate, where it is unlikely to get the necessary votes. now, back to dateline. now, back to dateline. >> noah stout unpacked the case file of his father's murder. pulled out page by page. and was transported right back to that sunday evening in june. when bill's body was found. and those investigators were so full of questions. >> the only thing i knew was going back to two years before that. right? >> thing was, noah did know about someone who seemed to want to hurt his dad.

so did his mother, anne. though it took a few painful questions to get there. >> did bill have any problems with anyone? >> no. he got along well with everybody, but he had an affair a couple of years ago. >> and there it was. a path to follow. anne told the investigators that two years before the murder, bill attended an old friend's wedding halfway across the country in fort smith, arkansas. spent the weekend in a hotel, where he became reacquainted, shall we say? with an old flame. >> he told me that they only had sex a couple of times. but i think they -- it was more -- of that, they talked on the phone.

>> it was midlife stupid, said bill. after anne found out somehow and confronted him and he confessed. he swore it was over. and it was. for him, that is. not for her. when and how did you become aware that something had happened? that your dad had maybe transgress? >> there was a time that my parents sat my brother and i doubt and said this happened. i don't remember a time like that, but i remember the fights getting more heated. there was more yelling. i remember overhearing what was being yelled and putting two and two together. >> why were they fighting? because, said anne, that woman, that arkansas woman, wouldn't let it go. and what began to happen here on the road was terrifying. >> i remember it was late at night, my parents were arguing or something like that. and at one point i hear one of

my parents say, she's coming here. i was like, what's happening? and who's coming here? >> then, said noah, in the still silence of a montana night, he heard a car. grinding up their long driveway. heard it stop outside of the house. >> i hear the door shut and my parents there still in the bedroom. lock to the door and all of that. panicking. and then i'm close to the door and i hear someone crouching outside the window. someone starts tapping. >> whoa. >> i'm facing away from the window. and i'm terrified. someone's out there. it's like a horror movie. so, that's where legal side and our cars are egged. some other things have been thrown in our cars. >> like what?

>> like poop and just things that have been thrown in our cars. >> that's pretty disgusting. >> yeah, it was. yeah. >> do you remember what you were thinking? >> like, what did you do dad? what is happening? [noise] >> 9-1-1. >> 5:00, the next morning. >> yes, my car just got egged. >> what's your name? >> bill stout. s-t-o-u-t. >> bill called the sheriff's office to report the vandalism. and to tell them about the enraged woman who, with a sister now, was making his life a kind of hell. >> it's two people from arkansas. they've been harassing -- >> it's a remote area, so if you hurry, you might catch them. >> bill told them, too, that he'd been getting weird hang-up phone calls. and he and his kids and even his friends started getting hateful emails. from someone with a strange handle. >> i started getting an email from -- >> freakofarc. >> i started getting these emails and the emails would say

things like -- bill and anne are not going to remain married. and i'm going to marry bill. and when i marry bill, anne's great to have to leave. and i'm paraphrasing all this. but these emails kept coming in. >> i'm reading this and i'm thinking, what does this mean? why are they seeing this to you? >> so many emails. this one said, freak of arc was changing her email address to montanabarb2001. letters arrived, too, postmarked from fort smith, arkansas. one containing an invitation to a welcome to montana together again barbecue for barbara and bill. an engagement party of sorts. mark finally decided to say something to bill. >> we're sitting at the restaurant. at one point during breakfast i said to bill, i said, hey, i'm not sure exactly how to say this, but i'm getting several

emails. and he stopped me and said, no, mark. it's this crazy person. and i said, okay. so, i shouldn't be worried about anything? he said, no. no. don't worry about. so, we just let the whole thing go at that point. >> then less than two weeks before bill's death, two things happened. a car followed noah home late one night. what did your dad say? about that car following at the driveway? >> i believe he said something like, i should have gotten my gun or something like that. >> then, a few days later, somebody took the gun. >> i just thought well, you misplaced it or something like that. >> the gun, a 9 mm pistol, was normally stored in a gun safe in bill and anne's bedroom closet. bill was in a panic. had that woman gotten into the house? >> he called to report into the sheriff's office saying this

handgun is missing and he's concerned, because he knows, or he believes that there's this lady out there who won't leave him alone. stalking him. >> well, there's been evidence that she's been right there at the house. >> right. >> tapping on the window. >> right. >> putting feces on the car. eggs. >> yes, it's very clear that this deeply affected bill. he was worried. >> and now bill was dead. sheriff's detectives received calls from nearly a dozen friends and family after bill, about the woman in arkansas. her name? barbara miller. >> my reaction was, we've got a murderer running around. put out a dragnet. find this woman. >> there were people all the way from here in montana to down in california that were pointing their finger at barbara miller. yes. >> did that angry woman have something to do with what happened to bill stout? barbara miller of arkansas was about to receive a visit from

investigators looking into a homicide. coming up -- >> she was definitely a person of interest to a suspect, somewhere in that category. >> questions. would there be answers? >> i'm not going to let you tap into my email. >> oh, that's fine. i'm just wondering -- >> i'm not going to let you spy on me. >> when "dateline" continues. media is trying me. i'm trending so hard that “hashtag common sense” can't keep up. this is going to get tens and tens of views. ♪ 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.

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morgue for two days before detectives made their move on the woman from arkansas. not personally, though, the didn't rush to the airport, instead, they picked up the phone. called the sheriff in fort's smith, arkansas, and asked if he'd mind sending some detectives around the farmers place. that is, the woman with whom bill stone had a brief affair, who was suspected of harassing him and his family. sending humiliating emails, perhaps telling his gun, and maybe killing him. >> she was definitely a person of interest to a suspect somewhere in that category. >> hello is this the miller residence? >> at first, she said she had

no idea why those detectives were so ramped up about her. >> i see the guy for a weekend -- >> yeah. >> and talk to him for a couple of months, and now he's murdered, and you're coming to me? >> we are going to everybody, and so what we're doing is trying to find out everybody that he knows. >> why am i being questioned? >> well, because he knew you. so we were just wondering. >> why would someone in arkansas want to hurt him? you should be looking for somebody who killed him. >> right. >> i don't see how i can help. >> then the detectives changed tack a little, and asked her about her email and that certainly produced a response. >> i'm not gonna let that happen. i'm not gonna let you spy on me. i haven't done anything. >> barbara miller's mind raced as detectives asked their invasive questions, and then the penny dropped. >> they think i did it. >> well, they certainly suspected it, which made perfect sense considering with the police had heard about barbara from those family, and his friends, and his coworkers. >> she was a little reluctant at first, to tell us the story

of how she got involved in all this. her liaison with bill. and all the rest of it. understandable, really, given. barbara said she and bill sort of slid into a relationship in their late teens, but it was a friend of her brother's. and things happened. >> when you first got together with him, did you have expectations that this was forever. >> i did. >> but before long, it seemed bill had other ideas. >> he basically told me, he'd already gotten married once right out of high school, and it didn't last very long. he was very disillusioned with marriage. >> how is that for you? >> i thought i could change his mind. >> you tried. >> obviously, he didn't feel the same way about it that i did. >> and with that, it was over. >> it was my decision to move on. >> how did the take it? >> he was fine. as far as i know i didn't have

any more contact with him. >> pretty soon barbara married someone else. and moved with him to arkansas. had a couple of kids. and forgot all about bill. until, it was 2005 when newly divorced barbara attended her sister's wedding at this hotel in fort smith, arkansas. and it just so happened that bill was invited too, he kept up his friendship with barbara's brothers. >> we are looking for another husband at that stage? >> no, i was fine. >> but, on the evening barbara got to the hotel where the wedding was being held. >> we had been to the bachelorette party, and when we got back he was there. >> so, what was like to see him at this family gathering? >> it was surreal. i did know he was going to be there. >> 30 years?

on to your hard do a little flip when you saw him? >> i hadn't kept up with him at all. so we had a lot to talk about. >> and then. bar talk turned into hotel room talk. turn into something else. along the way, inconvenient truths took a little holiday. >> why did he tell you about his circumstances. >> he told me that he was separated and living apart from his wife. >> was he looking to get a divorce? >> yes. >> might even have meant it. as biology worked its eternal magic. in that little weekend hotel room. and then barbara drove home, and bill flew back to montana, still both blissfully wrapped in a gauzy veil. for weeks there were calls every day, letters, cards, according to barbara, plans were made for her to visit. and then moved to montana.

until, a couple months later, something changed. >> tell me what your first intimation was that there were something wrong? >> he didn't call that nights, and the last couple of times i talked to him he sounded distant. and like, you know, he was having second thoughts. >> and after that, said barbara, they never spoke again. what was that like? >> it was sad, i was hurt. but i understood. >> now, two years after she said she last heard from him, detectives were on her doorstep. detectives who were so sure she was really all that surprised and offended. >> i mean, you could ask all the questions you want. that is the story. and of story. >> oh, but it wasn't. not even close. coming up. >> barbara miller seemed to be completely baffled. >> not only was she baffled, there was someone she was

frightened of. >> i'm very scared of her. i don't want to upset her. >> when dateline continues.

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so you both stay cool. our smart sleepers get 28 minutes more restful sleep per night. >> they were all here, in the save $500 on the sleep number 360 c4 smart bed queen now only $1,299. lowest price ever. file. the pages that revealed his father's betrayal of his mother's trust. and the awkward questions those detectives in arkansas had good reason to put to barbara miller, the woman bill stout had bedded, and feared. he was terrified of her. what she might do. he was sure it was barbara who sneaked onto his property, vandalized his home. >> 9-1-1. >> yeah, my car just egged. >> who'd tapped on his sons window at night. who'd repeatedly emailed bill's friends and family from an account called freak of arc. >> they said, no, it's this crazy person.

>> when bill told the sheriff that his nine millimeter pistol suddenly vanished, he said he was pretty sure barbara was behind it. >> he said, i've got a problem. this woman, in the past. and then was killed less than a month later. >> but a strange thing happened. when arkansas detectives questioned barbara all about this. how did she respond to those questions? >> barbara miller seemed to be completely baffled by the sudden appearance of law enforcement interested in bill stout. she said? >> she said -- >> barbara's versions of event was very different. like after bill made it clear that their relationship was over, she said she sent only one angry email. and after all of that, nothing. no cards, no letters. said she knew nothing at all about an email address called freak of arc. and didn't do any of the awful things bill thought she did in montana. in fact, barbara said she was

the one living in fear, not of bill, but of bill's wife, anne. >> i'm very scared of her. i don't want to upset her. i don't want to be involved in this. >> scared? of sweet, kind hearted, anne stout? please. but that's what she claimed. barbara miller told those detectives that after the affair with bill broke off, it was she who started getting and series of unnerving emails and phone calls, from anne. or so she said. what was the nature of the conversations? was she angry? were they friendly? >> as far as i can remember, she was trying to be calm about it. it i could hear the animosity animosity and the anger come through. she was trying not to get that come out. i didn't want to be rude. it was almost like she wanted to be my friend. i didn't want to be her friend. but i didn't want to hurt her

feelings either. >> southern manners? perhaps. or maybe she was only too aware that bill's wife might want to teach her a lesson. >> my boss called me into his office and told me. >> why did he tell you? >> he asked me, what's going on? because he got a phone call from a woman who said i was using the company mail for personal business. because she had threatened to put a restraining order on me. have the police come and serve it to me there. >> but as detectives stood in front of barbara's house just outside fort smith, arkansas, none of that mattered now. the only thing that did was to find out whether barbara killed bill stout up in montana or not. barbara needed an alibi. and quick. >> well, i showed them my telephone bills. i showed them -- listen, i go to work every day.

i said, what day did this happen? >> well, as we told you, it was a sunday. happened to be the 10th of june. so, where was barbara then? >> and i said, i was at walmart. i have a receipt. >> this walmart in van buren, arkansas, to be exact. or so she said. so the detectives checked it out. >> they went to walmart and got the footage of my husband and i buying groceries for a birthday party that we were going to. >> here it is. just before 1 pm, more than 1600 miles across the country. a good 25 hour drive away from the home where bill was killed. you were in walmart that time. >> i was in walmart. and i've never been to montana, period. >> they were probably are not nicer to you once they saw that? >> yeah, they were just doing their job. >> sure. but though they served high and

low detectives could not find even a hint of evidence that barbara played any part in bill's murder. didn't shoot him herself. and didn't hire anybody else to do it either. so it couldn't have been her? >> couldn't be her. >> i think this is perhaps first-time and i've sat across from a person accused by at least ten other people of committing a murder [laughs] and yet you really kind of a nice person. and 1500 miles away from where it occurred. >> i had no knowledge of it till, yeah, till after it happened. >> so, then, who did? and what about all those cards and letters and emails? all the harassment of bill stout and his wife anne and his two sons and many of his friends by someone called the freak of arc. there's a devious architecture to this sort of thing. unexpected. complicated. even sophisticated. but almost always with a little flaw.

coming up -- when anne stout came home, bill had been dead for 8 to 10 hours. pretty big window. it could be bill was alive when they left. it could be he was dead when they left. it was very much up in the. are >> correct. >> and later asked -- have you ever seen a murder case in which so many people close to the victim we're pointing at the wrong suspect? when "dateline" continues.

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bill stout, a husband, and father, found dead, in bed. >> did they tell you he was murdered? >> they said, he had been shot. >> detectives questioned the woman, with whom bill had an affair. >> he believes that there is this lady out there, stalking him. >> i have never been to montana, period. >> eventually, his ex flame was cleared. so, who was it? >> the handgun was found in the garage. that's a big clue, of course. >> and, there was another.

>> the stomach stops digesting at the moment of death. >> even as investigators closed in, not everyone was convinced. >> i was leading a charge up a mountain that you have the wrong person. >> a few days after bill stout's life was cruelly ended, his family, and friends, gathered in darby to say their goodbyes to a man who loved montana. >> it was packed. people shared a lot of nice memories i had not heard of. things like, i was in need, and your dad fixed my house for free and say, don't worry about it. things like that. so many people care about you, your family. it was a day i will never forget. >> but, investigators were

right back at square one. their initial suspect, barbara miller, now, ruled out. the person who killed bill in his bed, unknown. now, there seem to be so many red flags about her. how could bill have been so wrong? >> up to the day he died, bill, actually, believed that barbara miller was stalking him, and had ill intent. >> so, if barbara did not kill bill, who did? detectives cold in bill's family, with questions to ask. >> we're at the county sheriff's office with and stout. >> again, they went over, our, by our, the last weekend of bill's life. >> is there something you think i might have missed in our first conversation? >> remember, the first coroner on the scene said, bill, likely, died 8 to 10 hours before his body was found. that was sunday afternoon, about 5 pm. meaning, he was likely murdered

in the vicinity of 8 am. when an, and matt, we're just leaving, or had just left, for a day of shopping in missoula. both an, and son, matt, repeated what they said before. simply, they didn't know what happened. >> so, it could mean, bill was alive when they left, it could mean, he was dead when they left. really, it was up in the air. >> correct. >> matt said, he was certain, he did not hear a gunshot. so, the detectives went back to pay a visit to the marshal of it darby and his cameras. and had told detectives, on the day before he was murdered up, sunday, june 9th, bill went for a ride on his harley. he was going to missoula. sure enough, 1:58 pm, saturday afternoon, there is bill. riding his motorcycle through town, heading north. then, 3:31 pm, detectives found

bill walking into the harley store and missoula, and walking back out, ten minutes later, 3:41. but, from there? for several hours, it wasn't notable. writing his harley, maybe? did he see anyone? he told his wife he stopped, and had a beer. which, according to an, was out of character. >> anyone who knows him would know that he never drinks during the day. never. >> was and wondering if bill, given his past affair, had been cheating on her, again? we'll, know, the detectives found where he stop, and confirmed, he had one beer. apparently, alone. a few hours later, 7:55 pm, the marshals cameras caught bill riding south through darby, back towards home. which meant, he would have arrived a few minutes after 8 pm. which comported, exactly, with what ann had told them.

she said she was grilling steak for dinner. >> so bill drove up, right when i was barbecuing, right when i was taking it off the grill, and turning it over. i gave it to matthew, and told bill, his would be a second. then i put broccoli on their, because matthew won't eat broccoli. >> okay. did you have a potato? >> yes, baked potatoes. >> well, ville, and ann, we're in for the evening. matt had plans. >> after dinner, matt left for a bonfire with high school friends. >> the marshall cameras caught matt driving through derby in his suburban at 9:08 pm. ann said she and bill watch tv, and then, made love. around 10 pm, bill called a friend, and made plans to go horseback riding the next day. that would be sunday. cameras caught matt driving back home, through derby, 11:28 pm, saturday. it ann said she waited up for, then joined bill in the bedroom, where he was fast asleep. >> so you woke up, the next

morning, in your bed. >> i went to sleep in my bed, i always sleep in my bed. >> and it all fit. most of it, confirmed, by those cameras. but, there was one little thing. one more official looking piece of paper that noah fished out of the box. what could ann stout tell investigators about that? coming up -- >> we now knew, we were dealing with a narrow window of time. >> could broccoli solve this murder? >> the stomach stops digesting at the moment of death. the florets on the broccoli were still recognizable. >> when dateline, continues. , continues. you look fantastic. it's jon. hamm, from the blind date we went on years ago. ah, the struggling actor

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it's easy. just call the toll-free number for free information. (soft music) ♪ it was friday, five days after anne stout called 9-1-1, reporting the death of her husband, bill, here on the

road. the scene? the re-volley county courthouse, up the road, in hamilton montana. >> today's date is june 15th 2007. >> investigators, about to deliver some unpleasant news, because, after bill's death, and autopsy have been done. and, according to medical examiners, bill stout did not die on monday morning around eight, like the corner on the scene and gassed. how did they know? broccoli. that last meal that and cooked for bill, saturday night, when he got back from his motorcycle ride was one of his favorites. steak, broccoli, and potatoes. now, said the medical examiner, that last meal had told its story. >> the stomach stops digesting at the moment of death. what's the medical examiner noticed was, immediately, upon seeing the summit contents,

things had digested quickly. petito's, which they had, and had undigested. in fact, he used his fingers like this and said, the florets on the broccoli were still recognizable. those delicate things, in our food, is what you would see disappear first. they were still there. >> meaning, bill stout must have been shot to death after leading his last meal, 9 pm, or soon after, on saturday night. >> how did that change your theory of this crime? >> at that point, dramatically, changing the landscape of the investigation. we now knew that we were dealing with a narrow window of time which became, pretty evident, was a window in time in which anne was alone with bill. >> if bill stout was killed when he was alone, but anne, on saturday night? that changed everything.

anne stout, obviously, had no idea what she was walking into with a returning, just off screen here, that day, at the sheriff's office. >> here, in this folder, or the results of our investigation. can we pull up to the table together, you and i? >> i do not want to see. i don't want to. >> i don't have it. i don't have any pictures. >> i don't want to see anything graphic. >> yes, i don't have that. okay? >> the thing is, it wasn't just that last meal they wanted to talk to and about. crime scenes do tend to tell a story, even, sometimes, if it's hard to discern what the story is. from the moment investigators walked into anne and bill's right, something didn't smell right about this. literally. >> one of the prevailing things, spoken about those who had been in the house, early on, was

there was a powerful smell of bleach throughout the house. >> almost like someone had been cleaning up. sure enough, pretty soon, they came across three loads of still wet laundry, smelling, strongly, of leach, stuffed into various places. like, in this laundry hamper. inside of the hamper? more than just clothes. what was a holster doing in their? and a rubber glove? >> what did they find on the glove? >> on the outside, and inside of the call of, dna matching anne stout. >> of course, there may have been an innocent answer. these could have been her regular cleaning gloves. who knew, really. but, as for the holster? it was made for a nine millimeter pistol, and now, things were going to get worse for anne. remember, that gun that bill had reported missing from the safe before his death? it turned up, to. maybe only 50 feet away from

bill's prostrate body. >> the handgun, and found to be in the garage, inside of one of the saddle bags on bills motorcycle. that's a big clue, of course. >> the gun. the glove. the cleanup. was there another, logical, explanation? one that pointed not to anne, but to another person in the household? maybe. so far, she had an explanation for everything. so, maybe, she had another one? maybe. coming up -- >> i guess, at this point, i would ask you, what to actually happened the other night? >> anne in the hot seat. >> i have a time of death, showing that bill wasn't alive when you left that morning. you told me he spoke to you. he died before you left.

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here is what's happening. the fda, launching a coronavirus booster campaign of september, weeks earlier than expected. the vaccines will be formulated to provide stronger protection against the, now dominant, omicron variant, spreading across the country. and, former president, donald trump, taking heat for hosting a golf tournament this weekend, funded by the saudis. a group of 9/11 activists, many of whom, losing loved ones in the attack, protested the live tournament in bedminster, new jersey. 15 of the 19 hijackers were saudi nationals. now, back to dateline. back to dateline. all of the transcripts were here, for noah stout to read, if he dared. read, for example, about the

moment the police interview, with his mother, when things got real. when those detectives, in the room with anne, we're about to attempt to link or to bill's murder. her husband. noah's father. the moment was this. they read her her rights. >> with those rights in mind, do you want to talk to me? >> yes. >> okay. >> to clear everything. >> then, they seemed to back off a little. the complimented and for the fine young man she, and bill, had raised. their interviews, to, had gone into the box. uncomfortable interviews about their mother, their father, about what happened. >> you have two wonderful young men. i just wanted to ask you, though, is your impression of your boys that they are truthful? >> yes. >> okay. >> very much so. >> okay. >> and then, here it came. no more niceties. >> i guess, at this point, i

wanted to ask you, what actually happened the other night? >> i don't know what you are asking. i am not sure what you want me to respond. >> here is what i would ask you to respond. i will tell you -- we will, if you want, work our way through all of this. i will tell, you also, that the results of our investigation show that you killed bill. >> they do not show that. they do not prove that. you do not know that, because it did not happen. >> her reaction was one of, how could you say that about me? >> oh, but they were just getting started. >> we know the gun was not stolen, it was taken. we know that. because no one told us, and you just told us, he is truthful. >> he is very truthful. it's always been matthew. >> bill told him.

i didn't leave that gun safe unlocked. i didn't misplace that gun. someone took it from there. someone with a key opened that got unsafe, and took the fire arm. both of your boys told me, they did not do it. i don't think they did. >> i didn't do it. >> anne, i have a time of death, showing bill was not alive when you left that morning. you told me, he spoke to you. he died before you left. >> okay. >> okay? >> now, that is science. that is not me. >> no, that is not science. >> what was his time of death? >> actually, i wish you would tell me that. >> oh, god. >> i'm trying to work through

this with you. >> you are asking me a question that i do not have the answer for. >> you are being taken into custody. >> oh god! >> come on. >> i'm not out of. >> you have to take me into custody? >> please, you can take my passport, you can take anything, any physical object. you can really speak to somebody's custody. you don't know me. you don't know me. >> anne. >> you are under the arrest for the murder of bill stout. >> nothing went wrong that night, good things happened. >> please, i've never been in trouble, please. >> oh god, i've never had this happen. >> put your hands behind your back. >> everything in my life. everything that bill died for. you don't know what happened.

. who >> i didn't think i needed an attorney. >> mayor remind you -- well, i probably shouldn't say anything. another officer and i will to escort you to the detention center. we've got you booked into the county jail. you will continue to have access to your council. >> please, don't leave me. >> that friday, i went running. when i came back, my cell phone had a voice mail from the sheriff, and he said, no, i want you to know, we have arrested your mom. >> what did it feel like to hear that? >> i was shocked. still, i mourning my dad.

i've lost one parent. five days later, essentially, i lost another. >> noah was not the only one in shock. out in california -- >> to get this phone call, i'm thinking to myself, this is crazy. she was wife of the year, mother of the year. it hit me hard. i just wanted to do something. i wanted to make phone calls. i want to talk to somebody. i wanted to see if i could make heads or tails of this. there is just no way she would have done that. >> it was unbelievable that anne could have done anything like this. >> not anne, they thought. not anne. unthinkable. impossible. all of the planning? the careful orchestration? not the sort of thing that kind hearted and would do. was it? coming up -- >> she was very kind, very well liked, and i think when it came out in the public, she was charged with homicide, and that

is a big gasp, in a small town. >> detectives made a massive mistake? >> i was leading a charge up the mountain, you have the wrong person. >> when dateline, continues. hen dateline, continues. urself, like smoking isn't that dangerous. announcer: you can quit. for free help, call 1-800-quit now. [eerie shrinking sounds] (brad)for free help, congratulations! you're having an out-of-apartment experience. but apartments-dot-com can help you trade this love nest for... (woman) ...an actual nest. (brad) apartments-dot-com. the place to find a place. word spread through montana's

bitter route valley that the suspect in bill's murder was, his wife. the reaction was, anne? surely not anne. >> former reporter, jenny. >> she was kind, well liked, and i think when it came up in the public that she was charged with homicide, it was a very big gasp, in a very small town. >> back in california, the state's close friends, mark, and denise, we're not just gasping, they were yelling, hell no! >> i was leading a charge up the mountain.

you have the wrong person. and did not do, it could not do it, and would not do it. >> when anne trial began, a year later, it became apparent the prosecutors believe that the murder was just the final act in a richly complex, and inventive two year campaign. her intent? to humiliate bill. and, long before she pulled the trigger to kill him, to make sure that family, friends, colleagues, the police would point the finger of blame at the woman with whom he had his flaying. barbara miller. >> have you ever seen a murder case in which so many people, close to the victim, we're pointing at the wrong suspect? >> that was one of the unique things about this case.

it was the success that anne had at diverting attention to a specific person. >> the devious-ness, it's hard to wrap your head around. >> it was the product of some detailed planning before the crime. >> but, as so often happens with would be, diabolical killers, there were mistakes. one detectives visited anne office at the long term care facility, and took a dive into her computer, they uncovered, would look like, research into something uncaring. >> the internet search history included things like, how to poison people, how to murder somebody. >> those hang-up phone calls? bill thought it was barbara, breathing into the phone, before hanging up. investigators traced the calls to this payphone. steps from and's desk. when they ran down the freakofarc email account, the ip address? it was the stout's own home

computer. >> it all fit together that this email was, actually, barbara miller. >> then it turns out to come from anne space meant. >> the letters, and card, starting soon after he confessed to his intemperate weekend? bill and barbara barbecue invitation? they were all postmarked, fort smith arkansas. clever. how did she do it? detectives talk to the fort smith postmaster, who received occasional envelopes full of letters, addressed in montana, which were, dutifully, stamped fort smith, and put in the outgoing mail. detectives discovered the subterfuge in and's car. and sent copies of the same cards, and letters. >> anne fingerprints's were on the outside of the envelope, which was not unusual, but not only did her dna seal the envelope, but the only things

found on the letter inside were latent prints from and stout. >> so many mistakes. >> so many mistakes. >> so many mistakes, yes, but more the level of fiendish in this. >> it smelled like, really, incredible, sublimated anger. really, it was calculated, and directed, at hurting bill, and embarrassing him, and humiliating him. >> first, you destroy him while he is alive, then you kill him. my goodness. >> i think there was lots of sympathy for the spectrum. it seemed that bill, really, did try to recover from that a fair, and wanted to. it may be and, falsely, welcomed him back in, and said, let's move forward. but immediately thereafter, there was a trail of letters, and phone calls. a trail of harassment. >> the state's theory?

the combination of anne's multi-year plan, came ten days before bill's murder, when they claim, and anne stole bills gone from the, safe stashed in the laundry hamper, where bill would never look. but, there was a problem. to anne have no experience firing a gun. so, look at this. detectives found this list in her bedside table, with an injury, and claimed, were instructions to use the washing machine. but? >> our lead detective looked at it, and said, if you read between the lines, that maybe instructions on how to load, and shoot, a firearm. the red to being, when the safety is on, there is no red showing. when the safety is off, there is a bit of red color showing. it did not seem to have a lot of consistency with how to,

actually, run her washing machine, except for the fact that she used the word close. perhaps, instead of the word, bullet. >> but to make sure she could actually fire the gun, the state believed that she fired it, and tried a practice round. how did they know? a unique piece of detection, beginning in this box of ammunition from bill's gun safety. >> to the middle of the box, were three missing rounds. in addition, there was a little flower, inside of this box. and inside of a box of ammunition. >> a flower? that was a puzzle. until, an investigator noticed, and unusual plant just outside of the scouts front door. same little flower. so, he looked at their beneath the plant, and, there it was. one spent shell casing, one of the missing rounds. >> we believed that she took a practice round, when nobody was home.

the spent shell landed by that plant. one of those little flowers gets into the box. she puts the box back, and, the botanist narrowed the time that plant blooms to about a ten-day window of time. it all happened within ten days, or so, of bill's death. >> that's right around the time that is reporting the kind of missing. >> exactly. >> and, after she killed bill? >> i have every reason to believe, simply, she carried the weapon out into the garage. wrap it in a towel, stuck in the handbag. >> oh, and, there was insurance, to. a half million. the beneficiary? anne. >> so, the affair with barbara miller, the 500,000 in insurance money. an angry woman, scorned. if you had to pick a motive here, what was it? >> it's difficult to ascribe a single motive. the question that stands out is, what would motivate someone to

put in multiple years of planning, and carrying it out? there was a level of anger behind this that did not go away. >> my, my. what could and scouts defense attorney say to that? coming up -- >> someone came in the house and did it. not her. >> the searches for how to kill someone on and's computer? >> other people had access. >> why would other people be looking at a way to kill somebody when her husband is the one who winds of dead? >> there is lots of stuff you cannot explain. >> when dateline continues. when dateline continues the one getting the test. but we both live with the results. (announcer) you can quit. for free help, call 1-800-quit-now what can i du with less asthma? with dupixent, i can du more.. catching my train...

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two things coming together like a force of nature, like it was really meant to be, y'know? yes, yes, i do. and i'm so glad you wanna save money. rodney, set up a bundle for jon hamm. mm! of course! jon, is it still cool if i catch a ride home with you? i never said it was. but technically you didn't say it wasn't. it's not. yet. discomfort back there? instead of using aloe, or baby wipes, or powders, try the cooling, soothing relief or preparation h. because your derriere deserves expert care. preparation h. get comfortable with it. 9 out of 10 couples prefer a different mattress firmness. the sleep number 360 smart bed senses your movements and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. our smart sleepers get 28 minutes more restful sleep per night. noah stout, not allowed to sit save $500 on the sleep number 360 c4 smart bed, queen now only $1299. lowest price ever!

through his mother's trial, since he was a witness, after all. that is why, when he opened up the box, holding her case file, he, finally, learned what he was not privy to. as he waited,, patiently, outside of the courtroom, for

his turn to testify. >> time seemed to take forever. i got to know that hallway well. strangely, i would get replaced from the day. i would talk with my mom's attorney i, was still meeting with the police, i was talking with people. i was interacting in town. it's on the front page of the paper. so yes, i hear about all of this. >> it must be so bizarre. >> it was. it was. it was surreal. >> surreal, to, for bill's friend, mark, who, by now, had testified, and heard enough of the case against anne to feel betrayed. >> she duped me. it did not feel comfortable making eye contact with her. just knowing what she had done. to a very dear friend of mine. >> yes, what's she hadn't that prompted prosecutors to make it known, however briefly, that

they were considering pursuing the death penalty. but, as we all know a competent defense can make all the difference. this was anne's attorney. >> i guess what you inherited was a bad set of facts. >> yes, some of it. >> so, what did she think happened? >> someone came in the house, and did it. not her. when they were gone, she and match were gone to missoula. >> that evidence seemingly pointing to anne? well, they say it was just poorly interpreted. he said that anne didn't know anything about the half million dollar insurance policy on bills life, despite, what appears to be, her signature on it. or, that welcome to montana barbecue invitation, sent an envelope, spurring anne's dna. who got there? who could know? the freakofarc emails, made on the family computer? was not her.

after anne's workplace, those searches, how to poison someone? how to kill someone? >> other people had access. >> why would other people be looking for a way to kill somebody when her husband was the one who winds up dead? >> there is many things you can't explain. >> what about bill's 9 mm? the pistol that shortly went missing, and was later used to kill him, later found in the saddle back of his harley? she argued this. if anne was a cunning mastermind of some diabolical plot, then, why would she dump the gun in the garage? >> you use common sense. if you are smart enough to do all of this, you aren't going to be dumb enough to stick it in the saddle back. >> besides, they said, the towel that it was wrapped in? it was unlike any other towel in the house.

maybe it belong to somebody else? you get the picture. then back to the main question. how did bill stout end up with a bullet in his head? >> with the pathologist, i said, maybe we have a shot. >> maybe i have a shot how? >> that he committed suicide? >> you think there is a chance he committed suicide? >> yes. >> all kinds of reasons, said defensive tierney. bill was underwater on his mortgage, could not pay hills bills, was facing tax leaves. >> my pathologist demonstrated, to a jury, how you can put the gun behind the back of your head, and he testified that he had prior autopsies where people had done that. >> and committed suicide that way? >> yes. >> how would he commit suicide when there was no gun on the bed with him? >> well -- i have a theory.

>> which is what? >> that someone moved the gun, not her. >> who would have taken a gun, put it in his harley, but not killed him? who would do such a thing? >> i have some ideas, but i do not want to discuss that. >> the defense seemed to imply, if not anne, it must have been someone else in the house. so, who might it be? well, it was and obviously unstated possibility, the prosecutor did not appreciate the influence. >> apparently, there was a strategy to point to the very side of using the handgun, for example. the phrase, over, and over, is to use this. it is to use a handgun, it might have been matt it might have been noah. >> i did not like. it i thought it was offensive

to these young men, and the memory of their dad. >> the defense attorney said, that wasn't his intention. in fact, he said, if anyone did move the gun, it might have been out of concern for and, who, remember, who had already lost her son ben two suicide years earlier. >> the theory, then, is that someone would come in the house, find a person committed suicide, and in order to spare the failings of the family, or whatever, had taken the gun, and hit it somewhere? >> it happens. >> it happens. >> yeah. >> the attorney said he had evidence to back up the idea, that the medical examiner was wrong. that bill was not killed right after the saturday evening meal. that he was still alive, sunday morning, before he killed himself. the evidence? coffee. there was caffeine in his bloodstream.

>> why would that make a difference? >> because that means that someone got up, and made coffee. >> suggesting it was morning? >> yes. >> and anne said that when they got home, the tv was on, tuned to cnn, bill's favorite channel. but what about the steak, and broccoli, in his stomach? the bill the medical examiner used to pin the death to saturday night? well, said the defense, sometimes bill got up and a leftovers for breakfast. and, likely, did that on sunday, as he sat alone in the house. >> to ask anybody, somebody has a stake, and broccoli in their stomach, it's not breakfast you are talking about. >> he would eat it for breakfast, according to his son's, and her. >> that's weird. >> i think it is we are. my own son eats pizza for breakfast. you never know. >> was all of this a little too clever?

even cynical? well, there is one more thing you would never know. that is what a jury might do. >> coming up -- the verdict. >> it's like riding a rollercoaster. these 12 people, making decisions, going to impact the rest of your life. >> when they read it, she was standing up, and i had to push her back down into the chair. >> she was in shock? >> yes. >> when dateline continues. n dateline continues

>> the streets of the county seat, little hamilton, montana, were alive all that june. the whole town seemed to be watching, as this softspoken, respected woman, mother of three, stood trial for a crime so calculated. few could even conceive of it. >> there were a lot of people

in the courtroom every day. it was packed. >> that is just fence attorney ed. he argued there is no murder at all, but a suicide. by bill stout's own hand. we all waited. six hours, while the jury decided what to believe. and then -- >> is it possible to describe what it's like when you are coming back in? >> it was like riding a rollercoaster. these 12 people are making decisions, and can impact you the rest of your life. >> there were no cameras present for the verdict but the picture is still, in attorney ed's mind. >> when they read it, he was standing up. she had her hands on the table. she became a stiff is aboard and i had to push her back down. back into the chair. >> she was in shock. >> in shock because the verdict

was guilty. seconds later, and stout was let out of the courtroom and into this hallway. >> the judge said you can say goodbye to your mom. now we go with my brother and i, and i've never seen someone in as much shock as she was. and she was just bringing us close to her and thomas, that she loved us. and that was the last time that i saw that side of her person. so -- >> except for one time, her sentencing. the prosecutor asked the judge to send her to prison without life parole, and noah, 19 at the time, took the stand on his mother's behalf. >> i really take offense at the fact that someone recommended that my mother has no redeeming social value. and, when i think about justice,

i don't think about the fact that the only contact that my grandchildren will help with their grandmother, a bulletproof glass. and that's not justice to me. >> it was a slightly surreal scene in the courtroom. and even more so, when an herself rose to speak. >> i cannot explain to you how this has devastated my life and my family. i speak and not only for myself, i speak as a widow of my husband, bill. >> it was, in a word, bizarre. >> bill's death has left those around him morning for the man he was.

gone forever, cherished he was to many. a son he was to his mother, and to mine. and father to the young man that he was so proud of. but he is where he wants to be. >> it also left the judge unmoved. >> the reason that you your children will be deprived of your empathy as not because you've been convicted of this crime it's because you committed this crime. as the court's judgments case, you committed to state prison for women for the rest of your natural born life. >> and stout, who declined our request for interview, will be eligible for parole.

but not until 2038. when she is 73 years old. >> i think giving someone something like a life sentence removes them from the equation, and we don't even need to think about that person anymore. and that person, my mom included, is still going to live and still has their life. and we're gonna house that person. we need to think about how can we actually rehabilitate this person, and not just punish people? >> matt declined our request for interview, but he keeps in touch with his mom, visits her in prison when he can, and after his mother went to prison noaa intended law school. where the murder of bill stout was used as a case study, in a class on evidence. and when we last spoke, he was his mother's attorney of record. >> being front row and center, being witness at a trial, and

the child of a victim, the child of someone in prison, it definitely gave me an interesting view on american crime and the justice system. >> i imagine. >> the young man who finally had the courage to look in the box, the case file, that told his family story. >> has it helped to look inside? >> it didn't help right away. definitely, definitely pretty sad when i was reading it. because it's something you live with every day. knowing that i've opened it, i've looked at it, and it doesn't change me as a person, doesn't make me view my family any differently. >> no. oh, he read those dreaded files. saw the terrible evidence in there. and re-lived the worst days of his family's life. >> what has happened to you was a terrible thing. seriously terrible thing. but you have chosen to deliberately choose a positive, uplifting path to follow.

and that is not easy. so, it seems to me, it's like walking along the mountain. you don't get knocked off easy. >> it's kind of putting one foot in front of the other. life happens. >> he's a bright man, noah stout, sees the world clearly. but this, this is just different. >> then did you have a profoundly sad feeling when your mother killed your father. >> it didn't matter. she's still my mom. i know my dad raised me but regardless of the worst possible thing my mom could do i will still defend her. and i would be a supporter. >> did you take her at her word? >> yes. >> that she didn't do it? >> yeah. i mean, she's my mom. she's my mom. >> no matter what he saw on that box, he told us, no matter what it means to a quarter blah or whatever's may say about his choice, he is and always will

be his mother's son. and he loved them both in their place of paradise. still does. regardless of the horror here carries around. in that box. >> i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline". ♪ ♪ ♪ >> that's what he was trying to do, protect his family. that is all he ever wanted to do. >> even when the man was dying, that is what he was doing. >> a quiet family night at home, shattered by intruders. >> the gun was right here. >> a devoted father and husband, dead. >> she just kept saying, they killed him. >> someone murdered her husband, but left her alive. and that left police suspicious. was it possible that she was

involved in her husband's