story of what happened to jake his friends fought for him, his family fought against him and in the end it is hard to tell who won. be >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm andrea canning. thank you for watching! you for watching i'm craig melvin, and this is dateline. >> my dad was my best friend, he just like to make people smile. >> he would always posed about how he was an fbi agent. he was so proud. >> my brother and his friend came running down to the neighbor's house. >> just call 9-1-1! >> okay i'm calling. >> police departments. can you come down here ma'am? >> what is going on? >> it appeared to be concealed. >> a robbery is not gonna take the time to cover the body. it's personal. >> there may be some tenants

who had bad blood. >> -- >> somebody put behind bars. had it out for him. >> several doors were padlocked. >> it seemed like it was forever, but maybe a ten second silence in the courtroom. >> he was an fbi agent? >> he dealt with many criminals. >> he could take care of himself? >> at least he thought so. >> hello, and welcome to dateline. when special agent scott retired from the fbi, he had seemed like he had left the crime and violence behind him. then he was beaten to death outside of his own home. it was a puzzling mentally waiting for police to wonder had someone from the past resurfaced for revenge or was the killer much closer to home.

here is josh mankiewicz with the house! >> a young man walks towards his house in the middle of the evening. he is wearing a gopro camera and to do that. now if it sounds strange for someone to start recording a video of their own actions, we'll stay tuned. this is actually one of the less weird things that you will hear about. what happens next was nothing short of terrifying. >> call 9-1-1! >> what's going on? >> what he found that night would spark an investigation and a mystery that would only deepen overtime. it's all linked to the drama that began just hours earlier. when a daughter could not find her father. >> scott horn was not the kind of dad to disappear. he spent 23 years as an fbi

special agent. even in retirement, he still scheduled his life like clockwork. >> if he did something, he would normally do that same thing every single day at the same time. he never slept in either, he was up every morning at 7:30. >> scott's daughter kelly was living on her own by age 80. even so, she remembers her dad started each morning with the same phone call. >> your dad called to wake you up every day? >> yeah. he would call. and say are you up? and then five minutes he would see colin say are you up? >> so he's not just the alarm clock is also the snooze alarm >> yeah? . what >> except on that morning. march 16th 2016. her phone was silent. >> i texted him he did not respond, i call them. the phone went straight to

voice mail and i texted him saying are you okay? >> this wasn't like? him >> solidly. >> he would respond to? you >> yeah. >> she reached out to the next door neighbors. marty. and sadly. >> kelly called aunts asked me if i had seen scott all day and i said no i had not. >> and she said, call wanda. >> so i called the local police. they came out. >> nice house. >> officers from the police department met her at the house. to do what is called a welfare check. when police go to an address essentially to make sure that something that has not happened. >> we walk through the house. >> they moved from room to room. >> so my dad normally would take the dogs out to make sure that they went party outside. and there was p all over the floor. >> which means the dogs had been left in a long time. >> right. >> now it's not just the morning that he had been

missing. >> no one had seen him. >> since the day before? >> right. >> they went into the basement. another officer searched upstairs. officer matt zimmerman was there. >> nothing appeared to be in disarray, nothing appeared to be a struggle. she grabbed some belongings, and stated that she was going to continue to try to look at her father. >> you want to text? am >> i guess we'll wait till later. >> later eventually arrived and she still had not heard from her dad. >> by this time, you have to be scared. >> i was. i was. >> kelly had been talking with her older brother, riley. he hadn't seen the dad since the night before and was worried to. so that evening, riley went over to the house with a friend. [noise] that's when he hit record on his gopro. and headed up the lawn of his family's large suburban home.

as they walked, riley and his friend heard banging and flattering on the left side of the house. and when they went to the area where the sands had come from, they could make out a tarp in those darkness. they lifted it up. what they saw sent raleigh running to a neighbor's house where his sister kelly was waiting. >> just call 9-1-1. >> okay i'm calling. >> all right, i need a police officer. ems. >> what do you mean? >> kelly ran to the house. >> i didn't understand what was happening. >> they saw a body. they did know who it was? >> i honestly don't remember. i was so, my adrenaline kicked in and i ran up to the house. and i stopped right before the door, and i just fell to my knees and i was crying, and screaming. >> sal went out to the porch and saw her across the street in the snow. just screaming. it was ten minutes or so before

i could understand what she was even saying. >> which was what? >> that her dad was dead. but >> for the second time, officer zimmerman was first on the scene. >> my father is under a bunch. >> what is that? >> it is a gopro. >> we start moving in the driveway. i tell him show me where he found the body. [noise] >> right here. i can't look. he's covered. >> scott horn was dead. now, the mechanics of a murder investigation began. >> let's get crime scene tape for the body. >> [inaudible] >> who killed scott horn? as police search for clues outside the house. someone inside is apparently unaware of it all. >> coming up! >> hello? police departments. >> hello? >> come can you come down here

ma'am? >> what's going on? >> where conducting an investigation right now ma'am. >> and whoever murdered scott horn did not just kill him. this was overkill. >> so someone shoots him from behind, and then after he's on the ground, begins beating him? >> that is right. >> when dateline continues! when dateline continues hey, what's the lowest you'll go on one of these mugs? ah, remember -- no haggling in stores. oh, yeah, chapter six, yep. they may have read the book, but they still have a long way to go. was hoping to get your john hancock on there. well, let's just call it a signature. i noticed there weren't any refreshments, so i'm just gonna leave a couple of snackies. folks, the line's in shambles, let's tuck it in. -sir? -come on, come on. okay. all right. progressive can't protect you from becoming your parents, but we can protect your home and auto when you bundle with us. okay, we don't need a line monitor. woman tc: my a1c stayed here, it needed to be here. when you bundle with us. doctor tc: ruby's a1c is down with rybelsus®. man tc: my a1c wasn't at goal, now i'm down with rybelsus®. son tc: mom's a1c is down with rybelsus®. song: a1c down with rybelsus®

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road. scott horn had been found by his son. he had been murdered in his own backyard. >> can you contact -- >> detective henderson came to lead the investigation. he did not need a medical examiner to tell him scott horn had been a victim of a brutal murder. and it wasn't just the beating. another investigator noticed a bullet, lodged in a shed. >> scott was shot in the neck. >> within that crew and have killed him by itself? >> no. the neck wound would have disabled him. >> so someone shoots him from behind? and then after he's on the ground begins beating him? >> that is right. >> can you tell what he is beaten with? >> he was beaten with fire. would >> you didn't find the specific what he was been? with >> no. >> unable to find it maybe because next to the body, was a wood burning stove. it connected to a boiler that heeded the whole house. scott had installed the system.

he was quite proud of it. suddenly, it seemed that scott's own accomplishment might have helped his killer destroy the murder weapon. >> possible that somebody just threw it in the boiler after they were done using it? >> yes. >> detective henderson had a sense of how scott had died. to get to the hole, the detective needed more about his victims life. and right there at the crime scene,, family and friends were easier to talk. >> i went right up to the officers and and then find who i am. and told them that they were one of ours. and that he was a retired agent. >> she had been one of scotts supervisors at the bureau. >> it has to be we are being both an fbi agent in a friend of the victim in that situation? >> it is a tough place to be. we want to do so much more. >> your friend and special agent in that moment? >> yes. i'm there for the family. i'm there for him. >> not surprising. that was the way that scott had

been there for the bureau. he had carried fbi code entrails for more than two decades. after serving in the air force. >> he just like to laugh and make people smile. >> so in suspect interviews, he was the perfect man for the job. >> he was, he would say listen. just be offense with us, work with us. and i'll talk to the prosecutors. i will talk to my boss. we will see what we can do for you. >> and then you would come in and put them in a chokehold? >> right. exactly. tell us the truth! >> on drug cases, bank robberies, and kidnappings, scott horn had a good car persona, and it came to an end. after a while, family considerations made him ask for a lower acting assignment. background checks for people seeking back government jobs. >> he handled polygraph,'s presidential appointments, new recruits came through that spot. >> that's not the sexiest of fbi details. >> it's not that everyone shoots for, but it really had consistent hours. >> it's a dad schedule?

>> it's a dad schedule. exactly. >> his wife and worked long ships as a nurse. the daughter said that dad liked being mr. mom. >> he made sure that we ate a well balanced meal every night. went to bed on time all of our work got done. that our clothes were clean. my dad was my best friend. he took me everywhere with him, and taught me so much. >> scott love his family, including the four legged members. >> mama bear. papa bear. and there was canine bear. >> and running a close second to family, scott's passion for the four bedroom house. it had more than just his fingerprints on it. >> our house is so wonderful. i know it sounds really conceded but it is. it is something to be proud of. >> and a lot of the nice things about it, he had personally worked on? >> yes.

lots of projects. solar panels. wood burning stove. the pool had stolen or panels, he did it. >> -- >> yeah, there were so many projects that he was excited and didn't house. >> now that house scattered love so much. had become a crime scene. outside, officer stood watch. but inside? >> hello? police department. >> hello? >> can you come down here ma'am? >> yeah. >> somebody was walking down the stairs. >> who else lives? here anyone else? >> my husband. >> it was an allen. his wife, and kelly and riley's mom. and she appeared to have no idea what was transpiring just outside of her front door. >> what is going on? >> well we're conducting an investigation right now. ma'am >> it would be up to a detective to tell aaron what was going on. >> there is a man deceased over in the yard. okay? >> there is a deceased man in

my yard? like who is? it's >> investigators break the news to end. and she shares some troubling details. about scott's personal life. >> coming up! did scott have money problems? >> i know he gambles all the time. >> or are there other problems? >> we see that he has got maybe some tenants with bad blood. >> when dateline continues! teline continues and then i realized, there's plenty of savings in the sea. what? amazon has daily deals, so every day is a chance to meet the deal that catches your eye, that shakes your soul, that changes your destiny. i'm gonna go check on those tater tots. learn all the ways to save with amazon. ♪♪ hmmm. tryna catch me ridin'

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>> as he began his investigation, detective henderson thought it best to

keep some details of the murder to himself. >> ma'am? detective henderson. >> so as he talked with scott's wife in the couples kitchen, henderson was careful not to share everything that he now. >> where is scott? >> the last time i saw scott was early, early this morning. >> there is a man deceased over in the yard, okay? >> there is a deceased man in my yard? like who is it? >> and seemed to have no idea what was going on. and if you're wondering why and had not been out searching for her husband earlier, that answer is that after two decades of marriage, and and scott were living separate lives under the same roof. while negotiating a divorce. >> he doesn't talk to me. i mean, he won't tell me anything. i hardly ever see him. he's gone most of the day, every day, i don't know what

else to tell you. >> right away, and helped police with this detail. where scott had likely been. the night before his body was found. >> i know he gambles all the time. >> he had been at a casino. >> we establish the timeline for him. and, we wanted to look at maybe somebody following him. >> security footage from the maryland live casino showing scott spending some of his final hours playing cards. after midnight he cashed out. and headed to his car. >> how do you know that he wasn't followed coming back to the casino? >> the video footage of him walking around by himself. no one tagging along behind him when he went to his car, there is no one following him in the parking garage. >> the night of his murder, scott won less than $100. kelly says that was typical. her dad was hardly a high roller. >> i wouldn't call it gambling. if anything, when my dad went to play, he would go and

strategize what table was the best table to sit at. because of winning. >> detective henderson still had to determine if this was a random crime of opportunity a robbery gone wrong. investigators at the scene had noted his cell phone and while it were me saying >> we checked into the activity on his bank cards. there was no activity. in my experience, when a rubber takes property from a victim, they end up at a gas station. >> and they're trying to use the cards as quickly as possible? >> yes. >> didn't happen? no. >> not in this case. >> and the crime scene was telling investigators that this was not random. >> there was a lot of emotion involved and the way that scott was assaulted. >> because whoever murdered him, shot him. he falls to the ground they could've shot him again. but instead, they choose to

beat him to death. >> that is correct. >> which sounds like anger. >> it is. >> as an fbi agent for 23 years, scott had come into contact with plenty of bad guys. many of whom, might have carried a grudge about scott putting his hands where his cuffs on them. so they looked at scott's cases. and found a whole lot of nothing. >> there had never been any threats in his past that i am aware of. there had never been anything like that that i would get to curse you. >> and even though that does happen. >> it does. >> but that did not seem to apply with him? >> that is correct it did not apply with him. >> so what about scott second career? >> after fixing up his own house. scott had bought several properties in the neighborhood. he was now at landlord with more than a dozen tenants. >> we did expect that maybe some tenants had blood blood. >> they had found out that he

had recently victims someone from some of his rental properties. >> maybe one of them angered him to want him dead? >> we receive that information. we followed up on that as a lead. >> a league that like others, did not go anywhere. as they take through the possibilities, investigators were thinking the heart of this mystery was closer to home. that included considering scott son, riley. detectives know that the person who discovered the body, is sometimes the murderer. >> i want you to listen to me. i want you out front on the porch. have a seat. have a seat >> we brought reilly back to the station, he voluntarily came. he also voluntarily gave us a detailed description of what he found and how he found it. >> and where he'd been? >> and where he'd been. >> but detective quickly determined, riley had been at work all day. >> as far as you know, he had no history of being at odds

with his dad? >> he actually loved his dad, and his dad was one of the stronger figures in his life. as a mentor also. >> like kelly, rightly said that his dad had been his best friend. so then who were scotts enemies? that big house looked beautiful from the outside. inside? was another sorry. >> coming up! >> he just said, if you ever see the gun again. call 9-1-1. >> i even said, i said scott. you should leave the house. >> life behind closed doors. >> you keep the details of this from other people? >> yeah. it's embarrassing. it gets to the point where there were locks on everyone's doors. >> when dateline continues! hen dateline continues 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.

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here's what's happening. the owner has been classified as a post-tropical cyclone after moving north from the caribbean. it reach category four as a

hurricane earlier this week. saturday, more than 500,000 customers in atlantic canada went without power after being hit with hurricane-force winds. and heavy rain as it made landfall. this comes after the honoree kavalec on puerto rico, the island suffered a blackout. and entire communities were left underwater. now back to dateline! you ♪ ♪ ♪ >> welcome back to dateline. i'm craig melvin. scott horn was murdered in a violent rage. police suspected the crime was personal one and set up to find anyone who had a grudge against the former fbi special agent. but, there leads quickly fizzled. all but one. it turns out, scott did have -- some local police knew very well. back to josh mankiewicz, with the house.

>> the celebration of scott ones life drew quite a crowd. nobody could make scott laugh more than scott could make scott laugh. [laughs] >> there were jokes in tears. and there was an air of awkwardness too. scott's estranged wife was in the front row. just about everyone who is close to scott knew there had been trouble inside that marriage and that home. >> i even, said scott, you should leave the house. >> -- was an fbi colleague and one of scott's best friends. she says the clashes would -- started years earlier, mostly over the kids. >> what i saw, sometimes she would be really sweet and eyes to the kids, and then she could just turn on a dime and be mean to them. >> you saw that? >> yeah, i saw that, on occasion. >> and he would tell you about it. >> yeah. >> it turned out, scott's

friends were getting only glimpses of what happened at home. daughter kelly says growing up, her mother was volatile, -- sometimes keep the details from this from other people? >> you don't want everybody to know? >> yeah, it's embarrassing. >> kelly says one time, she got in trouble for breaking a rule and having a facebook account. and then, for borrowing a pair of her mom's heels. for that, she says, and made her sleep in a hallway. for months. her dad, she said, pushed back. we >> were in the hallway, where i had been sleeping, and an argument arose. my dad said that i deserved to have my bedroom back, and my mom got so angry. >> out of nowhere, kelly says, and pulled a handgun from underneath her bathrobe and

pointed it has got. she >> said, we made an agreement, you said i am taking care of the credits and if you get in my way there's gonna be a problem. his whole demeanor changed. he was more like, okay, we're just going to take a step back. >> and you leave the house with him. >> yeah. >> what did he say? >> if you ever see her gun again, call 9-1-1. >> you never saw the gun again? >> no. >> kelly says that happened about five years before the murder. she says the fighting escalated in the years that followed. >> it was bad. to the point where there were locks on everyone's doors, on the outside and inside. >> both spouses padlocked their bedroom doors to keep the other out. scott and and became two sides of the same coin, bound together but unable to face one another. it was a toxic atmosphere that seemed beyond repair. riley began recording his

interactions with his own mother. that's why he was wearing a gopro the night he went looking for his missing dad. by that point, the family home is already quite familiar to the laurel pd. how many times did police come to that house? >> they knew us. regularly. they were. lot >> you lost. count >> yeah. >> we didn't lose count. between 2012 in the start of 2017, laurel police responded to that home at least 15 times. sometimes, it was and calling. sometimes, it was scott calling. sometimes, it was the kids. sometimes, they went down and filed paperwork on their own. we found 30 cases ranging from domestic violence to second degree assault to new murray protective orders. all of it representing more contact with law enforcement and the criminal justice system than most of us have in a

lifetime. none of those cases resulted in criminal convictions for anyone. kelly says her mom told her to move out of the house at 18. scott, however, stayed. this was after all his house. that said, debbie believe scott may have underestimated his wife's resolve and that ands engine was running on spite. >> she said he loves this house. she said, i hate this house. and if he thinks that he's gonna live here and keep this house, he has another thing coming. she said because i will take this house from him and i will take everything he has. and i can do it. >> detective henderson heard all of this. i thought back to the first night he spoke with dan. was she really as clueless as

she seemed? >> she seemed calm. >> maybe to calm, thought detective anderson. and definitely too eager to offer up alternative theory. >> and he's got a lot of people that are angry with him right now. >> scotch has enemies, scott has gambling problems. >> did you find any evidence that he had any enemies, other than his wife? >> no. >> they did find evidence that and was likely home all day. she said as much the police. that would mean she was there that afternoon, when kellyanne officers went to check on scott. how could and not hear them? investigators now believe scott was already dead at the time of the welfare check.

as for those sounds, riley said he heard by the side of the house when he went over there that night, he later told police there was more to that. he'd seen someone out there. >> did you actually see what? was >> i did not, it was only a shadow. >> you just figures. >> yeah. >> he said he believed that shadow was his mom. police ask and about it that night. >> have you been outside? >> i was outside to put wood on the fire, but that was it. >> and you didn't see scott out there? >> no. >> investigators thought and was hiding something. were they all just dead wrong? as suspicion mounts, friends and family share another side of van. coming up -- >> and was very kind hearted, very compassionate. >> and wood chips in a washing machine. >> it suggests a cleanup. >> this is just a cleanup. >> when dateline continues. >> when dateline continues

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>> you thought it was an from the get-go? >> i did. yes. >> they say that and seemed aggressive. and never missed a chance to spread what they say were lies. about scott. >> this is an allen. i want to give you a quick call. >> this is a voice mail that and left scarred months before he was killed. >> he is brutal. and he, because he ran the streets until he, i married him at age 37. he was nothing but a man horror. >> another neighbor shared with police this video of an action that she had had with and on the street. >> i left because i was not going to be beaten up by him. >> at the time, and was claiming that her family was abusive to her. >> you know, i have a really hard time believing that that happens. i know because you're stupid. >> and you don't know how

deceptive an fbi agent can be. >> and as neighbors shared, these stories. one name kept popping up. jason bird. >> jason bird is a person who was previously employed by scott horn. >> he was one of scott's contractors melissa was the prosecutor. and she had heard enough to make her think that jason should be investigated. >> what was the gossip in that neighborhood? i mean your people went out and talked to a bunch of neighbors. >> that and was out to get scott. that they had a very contentious divorce. and that she was having an affair with jason and wanted to get in with jason. >> and denies that they were anything more than friends. still, police wondered if ann friends had helped her after the murder. maybe disposing of the gun and scott swallowed and cell phone.

it turned out that jason strzok was the potted at the house. and the neighbor took this photo of what the police thought was jason leaving the house that afternoon. that led to a police theory. ann had asked jason to get rid of scott's things. >> he doesn't seem to be carrying anything in his hands. but i guess he could have the property in his pockets? >> yes he could've had the property in his pockets. he could've had the handgun in his pockets. >> weeks went by and there were no arrests. kelly thought that it was just a matter of time. >> i never had any doubt that she did it. >> you are still sure it was? her >> yes. >> could kelley be right? that her mom killed her dad? impossible, says and's friend. rita. she and and went to school together. and she said that ends march is marked by her goodness other. >> she was very kind hearted, very compassionate.

>> she says that ann use that kind heart and compassion over her 30 year career as a nurse. part of it, at walter reed national medical center. >> she would tell me how, sometimes, she would actually hum or softly sing to her patients. whether they were soldiers or entrance. >> isn't that what you typically associate with someone who is a murder? >> correct. >> the divorce attorney said that the picture that police were getting was clouded by a tumultuous marriage, and a bitter divorce. and she says ann don't blame ann for that. >> why was it such a toxic place? and why didn't anyone want to leave? >> i think a lot of the issues that developed between ann and scott. actually a rose from the daughter. and ann had a difference of

opinion from scott had to deal with kelly. >> despite an's long hours at work. lauren paints her as an involved parent scott as overly permissive. and kelly as an out-of-control teen. >> there were many allegations that ann made against kelly. that kelly was physically violent with ann. >> kelley denies all of that and says her mom lied. so was an mean, and violent,? her lawyer says not at all. she was just a mom who's trying to compensate for her husband's lacks parenting. >> she grew up in her family, and her had her idea of how to deal with kelly. >> she says that scott turned her daughter against the mom. aunts -- and police found no proof that and had ever bought a gun. and as for what neighbors and friends thought and heard? lauren says that ann was just trying to defend her reputation.

and get a fair settlement. >> she knew that scott was going around telling individuals their personal business. painting a terrible picture of who she was as a wife and a mother. >> lauren says that she helped the police suspicion of and would subside. it did not. once again, body cams were rolling on june 30th, 2017. >> police, open the door. >> hi, put your hands behind your back. we have an arrest warrant. >> at a hotel two miles from their former home. she was arrested for scott's murder. jason bird was later arrested as well. >> it was a way to off of our shoulders. you know? that something is finally going to be done. >> after ann arrest, the crime lab gave police some welcome news some wood chips found in the family washing machine head scott's dna on them. >> it legged the house and the

person in the house, which was ann alyn to the murder >> and it is suggested a cleanup? >> it's just a cleanup. >> even with the new evidence, prosecutors were worried that the case against ann allen was threatening to fall apart before they even got started. >> coming up! >> there is no way that ann would do something so heinous. there is no way. >> from the moments that detective henderson arrived on the scene. because ann the one and only suspect. you can see it when you watch the first interaction with him in the kitchen. >> listen, listen. if you know anything about that. >> all i know. >> the detectives rush to judgment. and did the jury care enough to make a judgment? >> we were really limited to what the jury would hear about what really went on in that house? >> when dateline continues! line continues

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and allen and jason bird were arrested for the -- scott warren. investigators believed she shot him then, bludgeon him to death with a piece of firewood. what ships found in the families washing machine appeared to link and to the crime, but the defense was about to attack the very foundation of the prosecution's case. here's josh michael wits with the conclusion of the house.

>> charged with her husband's murder, and alan pleaded not guilty and waited in jail for her trial to begin. her friend, rita, was stunned. >> i was like, you've got to be kidding. there is no way that an would do something so heinous. there is no way. >> and defense attorney, andrew jessica, -- >> she's in jail and she just couldn't conceive that anybody could think that this lifelong nurse would harm anyone. >> jessica says he looked at the states case and saw no real evidence. he says common sense told him there was no way and could've pulled off such a brutal beating. since she walked with a cane or a crutch. >> the scene itself is so important and the manner of the killing -- >> his forehead was demolished by whatever was hitting him, presumably a piece of wood. and just didn't have that

strength. >> i'm guessing the state responded to that by saying that people were furious enough and other people can do superhuman things. >> they can say that, right? but then again, there needs to be evidence of it. >> not long after, and was arrested, the state's case seemed to fray. after first arresting chase -- prosecutors decided not to move forward and dropped all charges -- we got to the point where we are to present evidence to the grand jury to make a decision that, wasn't it. of >> search warrants were executed for jason's home, his truck. >> correct. >> and nothing, none of scottsbluff was. they're >> right. >> prosecutors forged ahead, hoping a jury would see what they saw. a woman who appeared sweden harmless, but was actually filled with a rage. but prosecutors were also hampered by what they could say in court. >> -- doesn't --

so because of that, we were really limited to what the jury could hear about what really went on in that house. >> do they get a real perspective to, they get a real picture of what to life was like there? >> i don't think they did. >> the jury didn't get to hear just how toxic that marriage was. didn't get to see the entirety of those police files on the family. >> because you are stupid. >> and didn't get to hear any of those neighbors recordings a van. >> still, prosecutors said and was the only person who hated scott enough to kill him. >> it's personal. >> you think and killed scott, not as the result of some argument, and some flow off the handle. you think she woke up that day, that was a plan. >> i think she waited for him to get home that day, i think she knew he was going to put a locker you logs on. i think she waited and went out there and attacked him. >> i was outside to put wood on the fire, but that was. it >> and's story about going

outside to throw logs on the fire was beyond suspicious. >> and you didn't see scott out? there >> no. >> literally in order to open that shed, you would have had to step over scott warren's body. >> and she saw nothing? >> so. nothing >> on top of your hatred for scott, the state said another -- motive >> is life insurance -- how much? >> $500,000 the prosecutors knew that the defense attorneys would say that and was physically too frail to beat scott to death. so they were ready as security camera at neighbors cities house show that sometimes, and used crutches, and other times, she did not. >> the crutch and the cain would come at will. >> i really, neighbors saw her before and after, walking around she was fine. i mean, a person in her 60s? absolutely. but she's not incapable of committing the crime.

>> the jury heard about the wood chips in the washer except, and dna was not on them. just scotts. in fact, prosecutors couldn't prove that her dna was on scott's body at all. the >> jury's like dna. >> they like dna. >> you didn't have? it >> i didn't have it >> did you go with ibuprofen or ad fill every night? >> wine. >> the defense thought prosecutors had every reason to worry. because they said, there is zero proof that in killed scott. they argue that the whole investigation was a classic case of tunnel vision. >> i think 100 percent, from the moments that detective henderson arrived on the scene, and was the one and only suspect. and you can see it when you watch his first interaction with her in the kitchen. >> listen, listen. if you know anything about that. >> all i know. >> he was interacting with her that he knew that he's on the person who did it and that was it. >> the defense argued that

there was nothing suspicious about and not seeing his body in the yard. the video proved how dark it was. and even police didn't find him when they went there for the welfare check that afternoon. the defense pushed back at the state's theory that she was motivated by money. turns out, she wasn't the beneficiary on the life insurance policy. scott had taken her name off of it. in a deep dive into the fan really finances, it showed this. >> scott had 220,000-plus in credit card debt. spread among 20 different credit cards. >> and she's on the hook for that? >> absolutely. >> the defense rested. the jurors want to deliberate. after one day, they told the judge that they were deadlocked. she sent them back. and on day two, there was a verdict. >> when the verdict was read, she just started whaling just whaling and she kept on just saying, thank you god, thank

you god, thank you god. >> i had a lot of people who were praying for and. and when i heard the verdict, it was like yes. the prayers were answered. >> she was found not guilty. and she was set free. >> i think she got away with murder. >> everybody got up, it was over up on to the next case >> scotts friends at the fbi were devastated. >> i wish there was more justice for him. he worked as an investigator, solving crimes. and this crime will never, i don't think never will be solved. >> the police later close the case. pending new information. since she was acquitted, she cannot be tried again for murder. and after the verdict, she moved to another state. as for riley and kelly? they told us that they are moving forward. and trying to live each day the way that their dad would have. >> you know, riley and i determine how we do things by how would that do it it? so.

just doing at the scott horn way. [laughs] >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching! thank you for watching as we begin a new hour, trump's years of magical thinking. as the walls begin to close around him, the fourth president appearing more than usual. and he has the power to declassify top secret government documents with his mind. also this hour, americans say trump in the threat that he recommends to democracy will play a role in the midterm vote. as the january six committee prepares for the next impossible hearing. plus, the post-roe landscape across america keeps changing, as abortion clinics reopen in one state, and the total ban could soon be law in another. and