of dateline, i'm craig melville, thank you for watching. i'm craig melvin. and i am natalie morales. and this is dateline. he was a wealthy doctor with a perfect life and the perfect wife until the day he says he found her dead. valentine's day! >> my wife -- my wife -- i think my wife is just, david. >> she had enemies. >> there were calls that were made to scare her. >> so imagine everyone shocked when they charged him with murder. >> he just couldn't have done. it >> sure they've had their problems. >> there was a huge number.

and i'm talking close to 100 phone calls to this phone number back and forth. >> but he did love her. >> i told some people at the clinic i wish i had someone that would look at me the way jon looks at susan. >> the question for the jury was didi lover to death. >> the motive was laws lost. >> hello and welcome to dateline if you're a fan of fictional courtroom dramas you might think that every criminal trial and with a bombshell. maybe it's a surprise witness or an 11th hour confession. well that kind of thing rarely happens in a real trial. but it did in the story. one last unexpected twist in the case full of surprises. here is dennis murphy with the valentine's day mystery. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> a dozen roses check.

how about a candle lit dinner and a champagne toast to love? isn't that what's valentine's day is supposed to be about? >> we all know red is for the ribbon on the box of chocolates, not for the pool of blood in the master back. maybe chicago gangsters get killed on the scene valentine's day but not pretty doctors wives in oklahoma city. >> it was huge. it had all of the appeal of a romance novel gone bad. it was the high society doctor, married to the beautiful wife that was crazy about one another. >> that high society doctor was doctor jon hamilton. and ob/gyn, who in addition to his regular practice ran an abortion clinic. a role that in conservative oklahoma would bring him some unwelcome notoriety. he and his wife susan had met

in 1985 at a friends birthday party. both administered lee separated. john from his first wife. and susan from dick. >> who was she, will she like? i think the best way to describe or is a woman who always wanted to be a mother, who is proud to be a mother. even though she had a great education her passion was to be a good mother. >> susan, then 39 and john 37 each had two children from their first marriages. friends say that when they met each other, they need an instant connection. down the hall was in the scene stone clinic. >> she was beautiful, by gracious intelligent and just a really neat lady. i told some people at the clinic that i wish i had someone that would look at me the way jon looks at susan. >> two years after that first date, they made at a local country club. doctor steve jameson, a colleague of john was best man. >> he found over her a lot.

>> the doctor and his wife build an nba slave style for themselves. a big comfortable house in a top-notch neighborhood lavish dinner parties and stir of the moment vacations. and the seemingly inseparable couple begin even more so after they married. susan managed john's abortion clinic working there two days a week. and i see my guess, it was a job that came with a little danger. anti abortion protesters were a reality. dick horton sometimes worried for his extra safety but knew that she wasn't easily rattled or intimidated. >> without any question, she wore the pants and if there was another pair she would go and get those. >> if anything threats against the clinics only brought the hamilton's closer together. >> she was very outspoken about it they were kind of a unit in that regard. >> february 14th 2001 would've been their 15th valentine's day together. >> but that wednesday morning,

john arrived home from the hospital and found a horrific scene. susan, lying beaten and strangled on their bathroom floor. her head bludgeoned surrounded by a pool of blood her face savaged almost unrecognizable. two neckties were nodded above her throat, john frantically called 9-1-1. >> 9-1-1. >> please, please, send police said enamel. and >> what a problem? >> my wife, i think my wife my wife is dead. >> sir sir. >> we told the operator he was trying cpr. >> i'm a doctor, i've been trying cpr, please send someone quick. >> is she not breathing? >> no, she's not breathing, i don't get a false. >> yes, i'm trying, i'm going to hang up -- >> we're on our way, okay. >> by the way the emergency workers arrived it was clear that susan hamilton was dead. possibility, was it a robbery gone bad and intruder or maybe more likely and antiabortion --

over the next few hours investigators would explore the list of theories and more as they try to understand just what had happened to susan hamilton that valentine's day morning. >> coming up -- john's puzzling phone bill. she finds a huge number close to 100 phone calls to this phone number back and forth. when dateline continues. when dateline continues. es? discover the power of 3 in the ozempic® tri-zone. in my ozempic® tri-zone, i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. announcer: ozempic® provides powerful a1c reduction. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. and you may lose weight. adults lost up to 14 pounds. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes.

don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. gallbladder problems may occur. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. join the millions already taking ozempic®. ask your health care provider about the ozempic® tri-zone. announcer: you may pay as little as $25 for a 3-month prescription. i'll remember that chapter of my life forever. we laughed, we cried, we protected that progressive home & auto bundle day and night. we were all of us dazzling... like knights sworn to protect our kingdom. we knew it wouldn't last forever, but...

that's what made it special -- you know we'll be back tomorrow, right? yeah, but it'll never be today again. -[ groaning ] -just get on the bus, flo! ♪ it's the most wonderful time of the year ♪ claritin provides non-drowsy symptom reliefay again. from over 200 indoor and outdoor allergens, day after day. feel the clarity and make today the most wonderful time of the year. live claritin clear. among my patients, i often see them have teeth sensitivity as well as gum issues. does it worry me? absolutely. sensodyne sensitivity & gum gives us the dual action effect that really takes care of both our teeth sensitivity as well as our gum issues. there's no question it's something that i would recommend. we're carvana there's no question it's something the company who invented car vending machines and buying a car 100 percent online now we've created a brand new way for you to sell your car whether it's a year old, or a few years old we want to buy your car so go to carvana enter your license plate answer a few questions and our techno wizardry calculates your car's value and gives you a real offer in seconds

when you're ready we'll come to you pay you on the spot and pick up your car that's it so ditch the old way of selling your car and say hello to the new way at carvana susan of i don't think he's

having a fair, he's crazy about you, you have a good marriage. and i don't think it's true. , in the end i think you she was calmer. >> when susan's ex-husband learned of her murder and the domestic drama about the cell phone law, he thought he knew right away would it happen. >> they had to find the stripper. this trooper did it.

>> one thing everybody knew who knew the couple including the neighbors seem to agree on, was that whoever susan's killer was it certainly was not john hamilton. >> he just couldn't have done it. he was so kind and you never heard him raise his voice or anything like that. >> investigators had plenty of theories to work with. but before that valentine's day was over, they would have a suspect in custody. a name that would shock everybody. >> coming up. the motive was love lost. >> when dateline continues. continues whooping cough is highly contagious for people of any age. and it can cause violent uncontrollable coughing fits. ask your doctor or pharmacist about whooping cough vaccination because it's not just for kids. for people living with h-i-v, keep being you. and ask your doctor about biktarvy. biktarvy is a complete, one-pill, once-a-day treatment used for h-i-v in certain adults.

it's not a cure, but with one small pill, biktarvy fights h-i-v to help you get to and stay undetectable. that's when the amount of virus is so low it cannot be measured by a lab test. research shows people who take h-i-v treatment every day and get to and stay undetectable can no longer transmit h-i-v through sex. serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure. rare, life-threatening side effects include a buildup of lactic acid and liver problems. do not take biktarvy if you take dofetilide or rifampin. tell your doctor about all the medicines and supplements you take, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you have kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis. if you have hepatitis b, do not stop taking biktarvy without talking to your doctor. common side effects were diarrhea, nausea, and headache. if you're living with hiv, keep loving who you are. and ask your doctor if biktarvy is right for you. oh, that i can't believe i scored this price feeling! if yo well believe it baby! keep loving who you are. because wayfair always delivers.

the look you want at the prices you want. so you can have the home you want! see we told you. wayfair always delivers small prices for big dreams. ♪ wayfair you've got just what i need ♪ shingles. the rash can feel like pulsing, electric shocks and last for weeks. a pain so intense, you could miss out on family time. the virus that causes shingles is likely already inside of you. 50 years or older? ask your doctor about shingles. at xfinity, we're constantly innovating. 50 years or older? and we're working 24/7 to connect you to more of what you love. we're bringing you the nation's largest gig speed network. available to more homes than anyone else. and with xfi complete, get 10x faster upload speeds. tech upgrades for your changing wifi needs. and advanced security at home and on the go to block millions of threats. only from us... xfinity. investigators have a word for

rage crimes overkill. and that wouldn't have been to susan hamilton on that valentine's day morning 2001. whoever killed her had cracked her skull open with an object he never found. and bashed her face into the bathroom tiles. to mend ties were tightly nodded about her nick. the scene was a bloody mess. and while there were scenarios to seriously consider berserk robber or maybe the lesion of activists opposed to the couples abortion practice the crime scene wasn't telling them that. not least of all in a bloody crime there were no footprints leading out of the house. shouldn't the killer have left a trees? >> there is no burglary prince to obtain downstairs.

there's no tracks that ran out through the creek bed and behind. soon after their arrival investigators started questioning dr. john hamilton himself. biden there had been the neighbors tip about problems in the hamilton marriage. and that wasn't all. the doctor's behavior in the minutes after finding susan dead seemed off. hamilton had told a 9-1-1 officer he was performing cpr. but when the first responder firefighter david bradbury arrived on the scene, he thought there was something odd about the way the doctor was performing chest compressions. >> he had one hand on her chest, one hand on her abdomen. attempting to do compressions in this man right here. the way that we are taught to do cpr we interlock our hands. the palm goes into the center of the chess on the sternum. >> and david bradbury says he didn't see any signs that the doctor had even attempted mouth to mouth resuscitation. >> the way that this woman had been beaten her face was

swollen her face was bloody. i did not notice any blood on her mouth whatsoever. >> after arriving to the crime scene, investigators placed john in the back of the police car. and,, it was there they noticed something else on. detective teresa sterling. >> he was acting very upset, he was striking his knuckles on the screen in the police car. he was banging his head into the screen. he was acting bizarre. >> by that afternoon, police had taken the doctor down to the station. they took this close as evidence, and placed him in an interview room for hours on and, watching and keeping him on the surveillance camera. >> he was just not the victim spouts that we were seeing. he was more suspicion drawn each time that we watched something. >> when left alone in the room, hamilton seemed to be checking out his shoulder area. had he hurt himself? if so how? >> and when they found fetch scratches on his hands unarmed, did that explain maybe the business about scraping his hands on the patrol car cage?

was he trying to cover up earlier injuries? >> that would cause a suspicion for us to wonder why he's scraping his hands up. that goes to another issue we talk about maybe being staged or draw attention instead of emotionally upset over the loss of his wife. >> still, there was the doctor seemingly solid alibi. after all he had a busy morning performing not just one but two surgeries with only a brief stop at home in between. >> i think that the biggest part for us was to try to figure out how he could get there and spend anytime there and get back to the second surgery. >> and, as the detectives looked more closely into the doctor's timeline that morning they saw a whole. not a big one but maybe enough time to kill and get back. they learned that second surgery, originally scheduled for 9 am hadn't actually gotten underway until 9:40. and why was it delayed? because dr. john hamilton was

leaked. the surgical team was about to get started when they realize that the doctor was stuck at home. >> he supposed to be there. and they've got a lady under anesthesia without a doctor. and that is just unheard of. >> to investigators that delay opened up the doctors window of opportunity by up to an hour. late that afternoon valentine's day 2001, they arrested john hamilton for the murder of his wife. >> you are under arrest. we are going to be transported to oklahoma county jail. >> he was jailed immediately and denied any bail. the case now ended in the -- men's district attorney who had tried doctor jon hamilton for murder. >> the prosecutor was well aware of the hurdles he faced not the least of which the lack of motive. lane look for signs of fossil abuse in the past but could not find anything substantive. >> until that valentine the motive there was no anger issues, no history of this guy. nothing heading the switch and

slipping out? >> nothing that we could really present. >> everyone who knew the couple was saying the same thing he just didn't make sense for the mild mannered doctor to have killed susan. even susan's children were standing by their stepfather. >> susan's children with the first who were calling me trying to find if i knew of any reason somebody or some person might have been there. and i don't think that they believed it. >> over the next few months though with the help of some unique forensic evidence the da would put together a novel theory of just what happened between husband and wife. something maybe greenly fitting for valentine's day. >> she was talking about leaving him. and so, the motive was love lost. >> the state of oklahoma charged dr. john hamilton with just loving his wife today. >> coming up --

the prosecutor had seemed headers work cut out for him. >> i've never ever one second not one moment in time ever thought that he was guilty, ever. >> when dateline continues. hen dateline continues claritin provides non-drowsy symptom relief from over 200 indoor and outdoor allergens, day after day. feel the clarity and make today the most wonderful time of the year. live claritin clear. kids, one year they want all dinosaurs stuff the next, camels. - llamas. - llamas. so save money shopping back to school on amazon. you sure that's not a camel? yeah. whatever you say. shingles. some describe it as an intense burning sensation or an unbearable itch. this painful, blistering rash can disrupt your life for weeks. it could make your workday feel impossible. the virus that causes shingles

is likely already inside of you. if you're 50 years or older, ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingles. covid-19 moves fast, and now you can too by asking your healthcare provider if an oral treatment is right for you. oral treatments can be taken at home and must be taken within 5 days from when symptoms first appear. if you have symptoms of covid-19, even if they're mild don't wait, get tested quickly. if you test positive and are at high risk for severe disease, act fast ask if an oral treatment is right for you. covid-19 moves fast and now you can too. a pool floatie is like whooping cough, it's not just for kids. whooping cough is highly contagious for people of any age. and it can cause violent uncontrollable coughing fits. ask your doctor or pharmacist about whooping cough vaccination because it's not just for kids. (dad) we have to tell everyone that we just asswitched to verizon's newst about whooping cough vaccination welcome unlimited plan, for just $30.

(daughter) i've already told everyone! (cool guy) $30...that's awesome. (mom) it's their best unlimited price ever. (woman) for $30 a line, i'm switching now. (vo) the network you want. the price you love. only from verizon. ♪ ♪ elon musk says tesla's full self-driving software is “amazing”, it will “blow your mind.” but does it work? this happens over and over again. 100,000 tesla drivers are already using full self-driving on public roads. i'm dan o'dowd. i'm a safety engineer and tesla full self-driving is the worst commercial software i've ever seen. tell congress to shut it down. paid for by the dawn project. the chinese government has yet

to comment on this most recent u.s. visit. author salman rushes off a ventilator. he was stabbed onstage in event in upstate new york on friday. because tic tac are, the 24-year-old, has pleaded not guilty to second the attempted murder and assault. now back to dateline. o dateline in december, 2001, ten months

after the valentine's day killing of his wife susan, dr. john hamilton was being tried for her murder. a crowd lined up to attend the proceedings. lael patients, former employees former physicians all standing behind the doctor. >> i have never ever once thought second, not every once in time ever thought he was guilty, ever. >> less lane, the prosecutor was surprised to find he had an unpopular case in his hands. >> there were people who thought this guy was being sandbag, railroaded. a very nice guy was facing a nightmare. >> i talked to everyone from the restaurant waitress that would wait on them on saturday mornings and she was. aghast that we could've charged john and luten because she would see them at breakfast together all lovey dovey and yes, there was a vast amount of opposition and skepticism.

>> would he hoped to show the skeptics at's trial was yes, the doctor was a man indeed who loved his wife. maybe loved her too much. >> john hamilton is a controlled guy. he wants to have everything in control, in order. >> to the prosecutor, the valentine's day carted john had received that morning lit the fuse for the violence that followed. in that card, susan had written a message alluding to the couples flare up just a couple of days before. susan, ballistic with suspicions that he was having a fling with a stripper. the prosecutor told the jury that he envisioned a murder this way. the doctor, coming back midmorning after his first surgery, trying to patch things up with his wife, who majorly wasn't buying. it >> he knew that she was still considering divorce. something happened in that bathroom that absolutely triggered him in which he grabbed the ties and then he

then surprised her and in his raged all the rest of the work. >> the doctor according to the prosecutions version now had to cover up his frenzy by going back to perform a second surgery as though nothing it happened. and here's the thing about that timeline. john had to have left the house by 9:20 to make it back to the hospital by 9:30 when he was seen scrubbing up for surgery. susan, as it turns out should also left by 9:20 because she had a 9:30 meeting at a friends house ten minutes away. but by all appearances, she never got much of a chance to get ready. when she was discovered, she was still undressed, her hair still wet. which means, if john hamilton didn't do it, you have to believe whoever did arrived right as he was leaving, or had been waiting inside all along. >> so somebody would've had to come in, get enraged, surprise her and thrown to the ground and underestimate. >> and in photos of the crime

scene, the prosecutor pointed out to juror something needed explaining. a wet rag left in the pool of blood from the victims had. it looked like the start of the started and then abandoned cleanup. >> you could tell the blood had been moved around. we actually believe the john hamilton was trying to clean things up before he got paged. >> so you have to think that the opportunistic robber breaking -- in >> what motive? and there was nothing stolen. >> nothing was stolen, and yet there was this curious story the cropped up in the days after susan had been murdered. a friend was combing susan's clothes closet for something appropriate for her to be buried in, when she came something concealed in her drawer. it was susan's good jewelry. >> she calls us and says i found the jewelry in her underwear. >> what did that mean? >> susan was very disciplined

individual,. she would never have hidden in her underwear. and all of a sudden, it just clicks that he's trying to make it look like a robbery. >> now this was the reasoning as the prosecutor sought. the doctor wanted the police to believe the crime it started as a robbery. robbers take jewels, so he hit his wife's jewelry before the 9-1-1 forces arrive, fully intending to get it out of the house sometime later. but he never had a chance to do that, or to tell the cops the robbery got the jewels. that's because he was put in the back of the police car, and never got back inside the house again. >> and finally there was a story told by -- the medical examiner had determined that susan had been strangled with two neckties, but are fatal injuries came from being bludgeoned by a blunt object, a murder object never found. investigators had to interpret the blood evidence left behind. and for that, they hired a bloodstain expert named ross gardner. >> this was a relatively

contained crime scene. good amount of blood, a lot of impact spatter. >> gardiner carefully examined everything the doctor had been wearing that morning. a lot of the blood on his clothing could be explained by his intent to administer cpr, but the expert looked at hamilton's shoes, the left one in particular, and found that to be a different matter. the shoes were found next to susan's body. john said they fell off his feet while he was attempting to revive her. the expert though was certain that whoever was wearing that left shoe that day was present when susan hamilton was being bludgeoned to death. >> effectively, the inside and front of that shoe was he motioned around this spider event from miss hamilton's radiating out. the only explanation of that event was that moving towards miss angleton. >> and then there were these curious stands in the doctors shirt. one expert thought i saw a

similarity between the angular shape and the moon created on susan's head. his theory was that the stains left and they sure were left by the murder weapon as they came in contact with the garment. of course he didn't have the actual murder weapon to make a true comparison, but he was able to leave the jury with a vivid impression. the doctor shirt may have taken a kind of photograph in blood. >> he took a 1 to 1 image of mrs. hamilton's head and the injuries in the lacerations. we took a wonder one image of his shirt and we overlaid it, and you can overlay the pattern transfer right on top of the wound and you see an immediate matchup. >> but the most damning blood evidence of all may have been found in the doctor's car. on the steering wheel and driver side seat and dorsal, crime scene investigators recovered strands of susan's hair and a piece of her flesh. how did they get there from the bathroom? to the investigators, the only

plausible explanation was that the doctor had bundled up the murder weapon to dispose of it somewhere along the way as he raised back for a second surgery. a bloody bundle that leaked. >> he wouldn't have had time to wash it, or would've had time to get it off his clothing, he left in a hurry obviously the first time that he was at the house. so leaving in a hurry, that's evidence that gets transferred from one thing to another. >> by the time the prosecutor wrapped up his case, he laid out a theory of when it happened. that the doctor had used the neckties to pull his wife down on the ground, and passed her head in with the murder weapon never found. afterwards he tried to clean up but quickly gave. up >> to set a lot of dots to connect and we knew we had enough dots that if we could get it to lay out in an understandable matter, we knew the jury would be hard-pressed not to convict him. >> dr. john hamilton though,

was ready to explain it all. his version of the truth would be completely different from the prosecutors. as long silence behind bars ended as he prepared to tell the jury and us what's really happened that valentine's day morning. >> the valid tase day lovers quarrel that it turned violent, not according to the doctor. >> coming up. >> the more things we talk about things, more things we clare, far the more things we got straightened out. things weren't nearly as bad as they portrayed it to be. >> when dateline continues. n dateline continues if dupixent has your moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis under control? hide my skin? not me. because dupixent targets a root cause of eczema, it helps heal your skin from within, keeping you one step ahead of it. hide my skin? not me. and for kids ages 6 months and up that means clearer skin, and noticeably less itch. with dupixent, you can change how their skin looks and feels.

and that's the kind of change you notice. hide my skin? not me. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes, including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. when you help heal your skin from within, you can show more with less eczema. talk to your child's eczema specialist about dupixent, a breakthrough eczema treatment. my mental health was much better. my mind was in a good place. but my body was telling a different story. i felt all people saw were my uncontrolled movements. some mental health meds can cause tardive dyskinesia, or td, and it's unlikely to improve without treatment. ingrezza is a prescription medicine to treat adults with td movements in the face and body. it's the only treatment for td that's one pill, once-daily, with or without food.

ingrezza 80 mg is proven to reduce td movements in 7 out of 10 people. people taking ingrezza can stay on their current dose of most mental health meds. don't take ingrezza if you're allergic to any of its ingredients. ingrezza may cause serious side effects including sleepiness. don't drive, operate heavy machinery, or do other dangerous activities until you know how ingrezza affects you. other serious side effects include potential heart rhythm problems and abnormal movements. it's nice people focus more on me. ask your doctor about ingrezza, #1 prescribed for td. learn how you could pay as little as zero dollars at ingrezza.com. ladies, six minutes please... this is my life. it's not always “picture perfect.” plus i'm dealing with bleeding from uterine fibroids. enter myfembree, a once-daily pill for women with heavy menstrual bleeding due to uterine fibroids. with myfembree, heavy bleeding went down by 84%. serious risks include heart attack, stroke, and blood clots. don't take myfembree if you've had any of these,

or have uncontrolled high blood pressure, are over 35 and smoke, could be pregnant, or have or had osteoporosis, liver disease, undiagnosed vaginal bleeding, certain cancers, or an allergic reaction to it. don't use longer than 2 years as bone loss may occur. pregnancy loss can occur, and changes in periods may make it hard to know if you're pregnant. if you think you are, stop taking it right away. other risks are depression, suicidal thoughts or actions, abnormal liver tests, high blood pressure, and passing of the fibroid. less bleeding, same life? i'll take it. ask your doctor about myfembree. my life, myfembree. kids don't always take the best care of school supplies. so save money shopping back to school on amazon. while they... 0oh... uh... figure their stuff out. among my patients, i often see them have teeth sensitivity as well as gum issues. does it worry me? absolutely. sensodyne sensitivity & gum gives us the dual action effect that really takes care of both our teeth sensitivity as well as our gum issues.

there's no question it's something that i would recommend. for ten months, ever since that valentine's day when he was arrested for the murder of his wife, john hamilton had kept his silence behind bars. now he would be able to tell his side of the story. matt garden, doctors lead attorney knew it would be uphill. >> we have a circumstantial case and i think the prosecutors in this case we're putting a sinner as sinister spin on it as they possibly could. >> to do the defense team seemed obvious from the first moments that investigators never seriously considered any one other than the husband. >> the focus was always on john, never anywhere else. who was never on anti abortion protesters, never on anyone -- there were calls that were made to susan that scared, her there

were brought out. >> the defense was dealt a setback at the start of trial. the judge ruled that he would not allow any testimony on threats that the doctor's wife may have received. so the strategy would be to pick apart the evidence and the logic of the prosecution's case. >> i never saw anything that said john that said john if i can have you nobody can. >> after all, only two people in the world really knew what was going on inside the handle to marriage. john avlon hamilton's spent day since his wife's murder in jail cell, would finally get to testify about the last days of the marriage, a story also told us. >> the more things were taught i talked about things, the more things were clarify, the more things we got this straight no, things weren't nearly as bad as they were pre-trade to be. >> as john hamilton told it, by valentine's day the couple have already patched up the raw wounds of that unorthodox relationship with the stripper. the doctor said he even started

seeing a therapist in trying to get back susan's trust. susan had decided to go into counseling with. and >> originally she did want to go, but eventually said yes i'll go. >> you began to see your camera? >> yes she even told her best friend sherry, i don't believe jon had an affair. so in susan's mind, the affair was not an issue. >> even the prosecutor, wes lane had to admit that john had been telling the truth about that suspected affair. lane had questioned the other woman. >> had there been a? fling and illicit relationship? >> no. >> the doctor refuted the prosecution's case against him point by point. like the observation made by detectives at the station that he seem to be checking its track scratches to his shoulder. they've been suspicious earlier at the house when he scratched his hands against the cage of the police car. was he nervous about what an examination of his body would reveal? >> i was frantic. i knew susan was dead, i knew

that they were suspecting me. i was scared, 1 million thoughts were running through my head. the major one was that i had lost the love of my life, i was never going to see susan again. >> the gun to accuse you of trying to cover up the scratches that susan made as you were killing her? >> if susan had scratched me, wouldn't you assume that they would've found tissue, blood, dna of some sort under her fingernails? nothing was found. it was looked for extensively. >> prosecutors and made a big deal about the doctor showing up late for a second surgery that morning. was in fact late they theorized because he was killing his wife during those moments then trying to figure out what to do next? dr. hamilton had a more simple explanation for being late. he had been told at the surgery before his was running along, and he decided to use the delay to run home and give his wife a

valentine. >> i talked to the surgery nurse and she said, the surgery before yours started 30 minutes. late >> you thought the second operation is going to be backed? up >> right. i still had 15 or 20 minutes. i have a bad habit of doing trying to do too much into short period of time, but because it was valentine's day, i wanted to give susan her valentine's day card, and start your day off right before she got busy with her meeting. >> so that was the reason he went? all >> right. and susan was getting ready trying to get dressed, and we kissed. i gave her the valentine's day card. she went in the closet and got one and give it to me. >> the card would later become an issue, because people saw a snarky line from susan, we'll obviously about this before the trouble began. did you understand which she was saying? it >> will sure, but it also said something like she loved me and loved our time together. >> as for the discovery of

susan's hair and blood tissue in his car, hamilton explained it this way. after calling 9-1-1, he realized he emts when we have a look at the car past his car out front, so we raced out to move it. he said he had gotten susan's car blood on him from doing cpr, blood that then transferred from his clothes and hands to the car. >> i wanted empty to get. in >> a lot of people don't get that. they hear there might be a spark of life in your wife and you gotta do cpr and you gotta move the car? >> i think that just goes to probably in my heart i knew she was dead, but i didn't want to believe that or give up. i wanted them to get in and help and i didn't want any obstruction, so yes, i went and try to move the car. i was so nervous i was shaking so much i was unsuccessful. >> so these things that you say are out of focus with the other thing, the business about moving her jewelry, hiding it in her drawer. why did you hide it?

>> i don't know. because it was out there in view i guess. >> in murder cases constructed on the interpretation of blood evidence, it's not unusual for juries to hear from dueling experts when they go to trial, and that's what happened here. and was seen as a coup for the defense didn't locked up one of the most highly regarded blood spatter experts in the nation. tom devil, a veteran of almost three decades with the oklahoma pd. >> i was hired either the next day or within two days at least of the actual crime by the defense. >> and they thought they were doing well because they took you off the market, prosecution would be able to attack your expertise? >> i thought that. >> and as expected, his take on the story of the blood put dr. hamilton in a better light. for instance, the shirt that the prosecution suggested had a bloodstain left by the murder

weapon, defense expert battle couldn't go that far. and >> in order to say that you have to have the murder weapon. the murder weapon was never files, you don't have an object to compare it against. >> and the shoe splattered with susan's blood from different directions as she was being killed, not necessarily a killer issue, counter the defense expert but, the shoe of dr. hamilton as he gave his wife cpr. >> he jumped out of his loafer shoes which would've re-oriented them, and he jumped over to her side and knelt down to try to assist her and give cpr. >> bevel was the last witness in the trial and from everything eta is to fight to under the defence attorneys general questioning, he helped dr. hamilton. an authoritative figure on the stand turning blood evidence from damning into not. >> then the prosecutor rose for his cross examination. and all, how the case changed.

the bottom fell out of everything. >> all the air in the courtroom was gone. it was one of those moments. >> coming up. one of those perry mason moments. >> i've never seen a case like doctor hamilton's for the defense expert offered the most compelling evidence against the defendant. >> when dateline continues. n dateline continues protective layer outside your teeth. pronamel repair is our first line of defense. it goes deep into the surface of the tooth to actively repair it. i personally use pronamel repair every single day, morning and night.

-well, i'm not 100% sold yet. -okay, have you considered -- it's fine, flo. she's not interested. i get it. not everyone wants to save money. -what's she doing? -i don't know. renters and homeowners can bundle and save. for what? a trip to bora bora? bora boring. okay, you know what? i'm in. she's all yours. want some tacos? -eh, i'm not really in the mood. -yeah, you're right. so messy, all the napkins, those different toppings. -actually, i'm in. -yeah, you are. girls trip. so messy, all the napkins, those different toppings. ♪ it's the most wonderful time of the year ♪ get fast relief of your worst allergy symptoms. including nasal congestion. with powerful claritin-d. so you can breathe better. feel the clarity and make today the most wonderful time of the year. claritin - d. ♪ ♪ this is the moment.

for a treatment for moderate-to-severe eczema. cibinqo — fda approved. 100% steroid free. not an injection, cibinqo is a once-daily pill for adults who didn't respond to previous treatments. and cibinqo helps provide clearer skin and less itch. cibinqo can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. before and during treatment, your doctor should check for infections and do blood tests. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b or c, have flu-like symptoms, or are prone to infections. do not take with medicines that prevent blood clots. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma, lung, skin and other cancers, serious heart-related events, and blood clots can happen. people 50 and older with heart disease risk factors have an increased risk of serious heart-related events or death with jak inhibitors. this is the moment. but we've only just begun. speak with your doctor about cibinqo today. an innovation from pfizer. wanna help kids get their homework done? speak with your doctor about cibinqo today. well, an internet connection's a good start. but kids also need computers.

and sometimes the hardest thing about homework is finding a place to do it. so why not hook community centers up with wifi? for kids like us, and all the amazing things we're gonna learn. through projectup, comcast is committing $1 billion so millions more students can continue to get the tools they need to build a future of unlimited possibilities. welcome back to dateline.

now with the conclusion of the valentines day mystery. here again is dennis murphy. >> tom babble, the blood spatter expert hired by dr. john hamilton had wrapped up his questioning under the defense attorney. as a last witness in the trial, he'd refuted a lot of the prosecutions findings and bolstered his client's case. then came the prosecutors west lanes turned to cross examine. now courtroom lawyers like to talk about perry moistens mason moments when a trial is electrified, but are hardly ever happens. it did in this case, it didn't ever. the prosecutor tossed of an open-ended question. >> well, mr. bevel is there anything the states experts or the oakland oklahoma police department missed in their examination of the evidence? >> the blood spatter expert on

the stand, on the payroll of the defense hesitated before answering. >> i expected an objection when i looked at the defense table which was over on my left. there wasn't an objection so i answered and i said yes sir. >> there was a detail that the witness wanted to talk about. something he had noted and which would later be regarded as the atomic bomb of the trial of dr. john hamilton. it was about that bloody sure taken from the doctor. >> in my examination, i found additional blood that was not talked about anywhere on the inside of the right cuff. >> prosecutors hadn't talked about this stain. maybe they had missed it all together. it was up inside the sleeve. how did it get there? >> that's when he started explaining that the blood spatter inside the sleeve, the only thing that he could think of that it was consistent with was john hamilton when he was

beating her with that plant is strength. it was driving that up inside his shirt. >> if you can get whiplash in a courtroom, that's what happens. the defenses expert was saying that dr. john hamilton most likely created those bloodstains by bashing in his wife's skull. >> it was a shock to everybody. nobody expected that to happen. >> is saying looking at that. sure >> his own expert is saying he's guilty. >> you can just envision but the murder weapon is, bludgeoning on poor susan's head, causing blood spatter. it's a vivid picture. >> it sure is. >> on redirect, hamilton's lawyer tried to defuse the bombshell testimony by suggesting that the spatter could've resulted from the doctor performing cpr, but his argument wouldn't be enough. it took the jurors took just two hours to reach a verdict. >> with the jury, to find as

follows, the defendant is guilty. >> the doctor realized he had been scheduled by his own man, the expert on blood spatter. >> i still believe that the system would work and that justice would come out. i was wrong. i was horribly wrong. >> two weeks later, he was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. the doctor was still in shock as the doctor at his as a judge added his opinion. >> just want to comment. the majority of the jurors said to me that they were very disappointed that they didn't have the senses of death as an option. you should consider yourself very lucky. >> but for john hamilton, the fight wasn't over. >> you know i've come to find out the blood spatter is really junk science. if this blood spatter is real science, then why should two prominent national authorities

disagree with the findings. one says, the shoes is what convinced him. the other says it's his shirt that convicts him. they don't agree. >> hamilton hired a new attorney, to a bill the decision. >> i mean criminal trials for 22 years and i've never seen a case like doctor hamilton's where the defense expert offered the most compelling evidence against the defendants. >> there were arguments about whether tom pebble should never been allowed to testify. >> whether he lied about or defence counsel took a risk of should never been taken. >> tom bevel denies lying about his testimony and the carts didn't buy the appeal either. the courts made their way up to the supreme court but they ultimately failed. >> a lot of people who think that you are guilty say it's time to dr. hamilton to finally admit his guilt.

be a guy, step up to the plate until the story the way it was. >> i'm telling the truth now. if i was the guy they think i am, then what do i have to lose by telling the truth? i don't have anything to lose. if i really did it, if that would clear my conscience, but i didn't do it. i didn't kill susan. >> for susan's family and friends, the case is now closed, but it will may never bring closure. after all, nothing can bring back the beautiful headstrong woman they are loved. >> it's changed valentine's day forever for union kids? >> actually, we've turned into a positive. it started out as a negative. we changed it to instead, that valentine's day is a day to celebrate love. there isn't any greater love.

>> today, john hamilton resides in prison. behind the walls were valentine's day as little significance at all. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm natalie morales. thank you for watching. thank you for watching we'll startwe'll star you don't have to go out tonight don't. >> in the sky overhead turned dark by midnight in the afternoon. >> when it gets like that, it is pitch blackout. you have the fear of tornadoes. >> sure enough said the announcers on tv, twisters had been spotted headed to parts of the city.