but after some backlash, he said that he did some more digging and he came to this conclusion. >> it doesn't seem that there's ever any proof that they clip the litter box in there. >> no proof. he pushed a lie. hopefully, that settles that. and now we do not ever have to talk about litter boxes in school ever again! and be sure to tell your friends, this pre-midterm weekend, the truth matters. but only if you hear it. so listen up! and on that note, we wish you all a very good night! from all of our colleagues across the networks of nbc news. thank you for staying up late, i will see you at the end of monday! >> she answered the phone call, her text messages. i could see that the windowpane was broken. the glass was on the ground. >> a valentine's day that

started with roses and ended in a different shade of red. >> everything stopped. i was just in shock. >> we knew that there was somebody bad out there doing something. >> she was a wife, a mother, a missionary. >> to me, it sounds like a saint. >> she probably was. >> but something had been happening behind closed doors. >> there is nothing more important to me than you and this relationship. >> was it love? >> this was his valentine's day present. >> or hate? >> one shot to the head. >> what was the motive for a valentine's day murder? >> we had a note that she had written. >> she was speaking from the grave. >> that note was powerful. >> it happened on the least likely day imaginable. a day devoted to love and affection.

valentine's day. and it happened to the last people on earth you would expect. a religious family dedicated to god and making the world a better place. >> we had a break-in. >> is it going on right now? >> i don't know. the garage door is open. there is glass from the back door where somebody broke in. >> my world had just been shattered. >> they're perfect world broken by and act so evil, it tore a family apart. >> the worst day of my life. >> and put an entire town on edge. >> the extra extra cautious, lock your doors, lock your windows. pay attention to strangers in the area. >> they devoted their lives to others. who would ever want to hurt them? >> it's just absolutely a despicable act. >> for a day that ended so tragically, it began in a happy way. with flowers and expressions of love. with nathan and dennis leuthold had met earlier, back in the eighties when they were

students at a small baptist school in central illinois. even at that young age, nathan knew there was something to the sparkling little girl. >> i was in third grade and she was in fourth grade at the time. and i doubt she even knew i existed. but even then, i thought she was the cutest girl in school. >> what was it that you liked about her so much? >> it was the curly hair and the bouncy curls, and just the happy-go-lucky smile. in junior high, i began to see her character. and see what kind of person she was that way. >> it was in high school that nathan and denise got to know each other better. but they didn't date, as most teens do. because they both came from religious families. >> our parents didn't really believe in dating. so we are just good friends. i went to her church activities, she came to mine. we saw each other in school. that's how it started. she was my first girlfriend, and my only girlfriend. >> norm junior got to know nathan and denise when his wife taught at the high school. death nathan was a basketball player, denise was a cheerleader. >> they were inseparable.

they would just goof around with each other. just a loving puppy love way. and it just grew into something special between the two of them. and we knew they would be together. >> what's more, with nathan admired denise's parents and was inspired by what he saw as a perfect marriage. >> i looked at denise's mom and i saw what she was as a woman, a wife, a mother. and i saw that denise really favored her mother. so i said, that's why. want >> for denise's mom, diane newton, the feeling was mutual. was he over all the time? >> yes. he practically lived at our house. >> when denise went off to college in minnesota, nathan, a year younger, soon followed. to no one surprise, the couple got engaged a year later. diane knew it was coming. >> i wasn't surprised when he was the first one that she dated and they ended up getting married. >> that was in july 1995.

>> i was always very happy being a wife and mother. so, i was happy for her that she had found someone to love. to share her life with. >> right before we did our vows, denise had prepared a song talking about everything that she had wanted was in me. and that our marriage was going to be the kind that she had always hope for, and dreamed for as a little child. and it was a wonderful day. >> after the young couple settled in their hometown of peoria, illinois, denise went to work at an insurance company. while nathan started a career in jails sales. but he couldn't shake a higher calling. for several years he had dreamed of becoming a baptist missionary. in 1998, he finally seized the opportunity when another young couple at their church began their own missionary work in lithuania. >> i approached the fella and said, what would you think about denise and i coming and helping you guys? he said that would be great. >> they moved in with us for six months. sold all their possessions,

tried to save up money. >> we didn't know any lithuanian at the time. didn't know the language, we were studying it. trying our best. but it was definitely a shock. >> they returned home after a year and soon welcomed a son, seth and a daughter, julia. in 2002, the fan really went back to lithuania, which became their second home on and off for the next eight years. that's a big undertaking -- >> right. i think it was very hard for denise to leave her family, to leave everything she had known. and to go over to a strange country, you know, with a toddler and a baby. it was traumatic experience for her, i think. >> this is because really, nathan, wanted to do it? >> right. she was supporting him. it wasn't really her calling. she was basically just being a wife and a mother. >> but denise also became very devoted to the church there. >> denise was very musical and she played the piano for the

children, taught them songs. talk a little girls especially, bible stories. >> they grew particularly close to some of the children at their families. >> we had helped women who had been in abusive relationships. we had brought several list and students tonight it seized over the years. for cultural reasons, musical purposes. >> their generosity extended to a young lithuanian they had gone to know well. aina dobilaite. >> nathan has a very big heart for people. . he just loves to help people out. and just wants to do the lord's work. >> by the fall of 2010, nathan and denise we're living back in the states. by then, they had a third child, jenelle. their days were filled with shuttling kids to school and daycare, and raising funds for their next overseas mission.

life with three young kids was busy, hectic, normal. but then came valentine's day, 2013. when nathan pulled into their driveway mid afternoon and discovered something terribly wrong. >> i could see that the windowpane was broken. glass was on the ground. at that point, i began to put things together that someone had broken into the home. and at that point i called the police, called 9-1-1. >> 9-1-1. where is the emergency? >> ah, we've got a break. in. >> a daring burglary in the middle of the day. that would rob this family of everything. coming up -- there would be no more cards, candies or flowers this valentine's day. no one can find denise. >> she hadn't answered her phone calls. she hadn't answered her text messages. >> and what police find is terrifying. >> everything stopped. i just kept looking at my daughter. my world had just been shattered. and i have to tell her at some

point. >> when dateline continues.

>> after many years of working overseas as missionaries, the leuthold would return to peoria, illinois. denise, nathan and their three kids. seth, 12, julia, 10 and jenelle, 4. were living with denise is. parents nathan says it felt good to be home. >> we had tremendous friends and family here in the states. and that's always what we miss the most. >> being back in the states also made gave nathan an opportunity travel to churches where he reported on his and denise's missionary work and raised more funds so they could soon return to lithuania. in the u.s., they could also celebrate holidays, american style, as they did on valentine's day, 2013. >> as is our tradition on holidays, easter, christmas, or

birthdays or, valentines -- we started off with the children first thing in the morning. so, the children had their valentine sacs that denise had prepared sitting at the table for them. >> and for his wife? >> my gift to her was the roses and the card that i had bought the night before in place on the table. >> after the early morning celebration, the family was back to their usual routine. taking the kids to school, shopping, running errands. denise's parents were at work. but that day, something happened that was completely out of character for denise. she failed to pick up julia from school. >> my parents called me, do you want us to pick up her up? >> the i said denise should be there there. she must of been late. >> turns out no one had been able to reach denise for a while. including nathan. >> she hadn't answered her phone call. she had answered her text messages. i said, just wait for minute. i'll get jenelle from daycare and let you know.

and when i picture up from daycare. they said she still hasn't come, she hasn't called. i said well, i'll run by the house and see if she's there. and as soon as i got to be pulled into the driveway, the garage doors open. >> was that odd? >> very odd. there's no car in the garage. but the garage door is open. and then as i got about halfway into the garage, i could see that the windowpane was broken. the glass was on the ground. at that point, i began to understand that someone had broken into the home. >> did you fear that the person could still be in the house? >> i did. and at that point, i just decided the best thing was to not enter the house. i am not a real confrontational type of person. never been in a fight in my life. if i had to defend my family, i would. but i don't go looking for it. i wasn't going to try to stop somebody who is in the house. the police would get them later. >> with his young daughter in the car, nathan backed into the neighbor's driveway across the street, so he could watch the house as he called 9-1-1. >> what's the problem? >> we've got a break in. >> is it going on right now?

>> i don't know. the garage door is open. there is glass from the back door where somebody broke in. i've not gone in the house yet. >> nathan waited with his daughter at the neighbor's house, repeatedly calling family members to see if anyone had heard from denise. then the police arrived. >> detectives jason lee and sean curry were among the first on the scene. >> by the time we got here, officers were starting to rope everything off. securing the inside of the house. >> they didn't find an intruder, instead they found something far worse. >> while searching the house, they discovered a female down. that was obviously deceased, in the house. >> 39 year old denise leuthold lying in a pool of blood, had barely made it inside the house, her coat was still on. >> on the other side of this door where we saw him found her laying down. just right in the front door here. >> they quickly determined she had been killed by a single gunshot to the head.

she didn't even have time to take her coat off. her gloves, anything. so when she entered that door, that shot was immediate. >> the weapon appear to be a 40 caliber handgun. but no sign of a gun. >> did it seem like denise had possibly startled a burglar? >> when we got there, it looked like he interrupted a burglary. when she came home the, house had been ransacked like somebody had broken in through the back door. started going through the house. she had maybe startled a burglar when she came in through the front door. >> well investigators combed the quick the crime scene, nathan anxiously watched the police activity from the house across the street. how did they tell you what they had found? >> the police were not the first people to tell me. unfortunately, i found out about it through my father. i was calling my dad and dad said well i'm on my way. i just heard on the radio. the local news media just put

it on the radio that at your house somebody was shot. >> nathan realized it had to have been denise. when you came to that realization, what is going through your mind? >> everything stopped. i went looking at my four -year-old daughter, who is the image of her mother. curly hair and bouncy step. and i just kept looking at my daughter and i wanted to hug her. i wanted to just let out all of the pain that was associated with knowing. but there she was standing, staring at me, just smiling. my world had just been shattered. and i had to tell her at some

point. >> denise's mom had no idea what happened. but she rushed to him when nathan told her they had been a break-in. >> i drove out there, the roads were all blocked. >> that a sick feeling when you see all those police? >> yeah. >> what were you thinking? >> i didn't know what to think. i try to run up there to go to the house and they were like, no you can't go in. i'm like well, i just want to know, i just want to know what happened to my daughter. is she in there? where is she? >> they eventually took me downtown and then one of the policeman came in and told me that she had been shot. the worst day of my life. >> now she had to tell her husband, denise father's. >> fell apart, cried. i guess it's every parent's worst nightmare. they have a child taken from them. >> as denise's family reeled from their unimaginable loss, this quiet central illinois community was just starting to grapple with the fall of a

murder on valentine's day. >> did you feel like we have a mystery on our hands? we've got to solve this? >> yeah, we knew we had something bad. and we knew that it was going to take a lot of work to get to the point where we knew who done it. >> coming up -- a possible clue. >> and then pulled into our driveway. >> without the headlights on? >> without headlights? >> without the headlights on. >> nathan remembered seeing a suspicious car near his house not long before the murder. >> this is kind of weird. they pulled in the driveway. i immediately go through -- by the front door and flip the lights on. the car leaves. >> was the killer in that car? when dateline continues.

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denise leuthold, mother of three young children, had been found shot to death in her home in peoria, illinois. leuthold's friend couldn't comprehend the news. >> who could do this to a great young woman? a family of three children, great husband. >> nathan said when he lost denise, he lost his foundation. >> my wife, my best friend from third grade, the mother of the three most important children in the world to me. how do i function now, without her? >> with the house now a crime

scene, nathan went with detectives to the police station where they asked him if he could think of any reason his family would be targeted. >> do you have any personal problems with anybody? >> no. >> does your wife? >> no. >> was there anything of extreme value? >> in the house? >> in your room, in that room in particular. >> i had 2 watches. a couple hundred dollar watches. nothing -- >> what about money? >> no. >> a laptop, digital camera, and jewelry had been stolen. two guns had also been taken including a 40 caliber glock, the same caliber used to kill denise, had the intruder used that weapon to shoot her? >> do you know why anybody would want to break into that house? >> i've been trying to ask myself the same question i first pulled in the driveway. >> nathan gave detectives a clue, though. he said he remembered seeing a suspicious car in the neighborhood late at night. a couple of weeks before the

murder. >> pulled in our driveway with the headlights on. >> without headlights? >> without headlights on. they were on in the road, but they turned in, they turned them off. you know, this is kind of weird, pulled in the driveway, i immediately go through into the front door, and it'll be outside lights on. the car leaves. >> then a few days before the murder, he said it happened again. >> similar situation, but this time into the neighbor's driveway. >> that time, nathan called police, and spoke with an officer. >> there were people who were casing the neighborhood. >> people in peoria, illinois were spooked. could a burglar going to kill be on the loose? >> it caused a lot of stress in the neighborhood. political school lock down that day, this stuff doesn't happen in this neighborhood. >> if you come down during the day people are riding their bikes. people in the park walking around. it's not like a high crime area where those gunshots all the time. it was enough to scare

everybody. >> it was a big story in town. >> be extra cautious lock your doors, lock your windows, pay attention to strangers in your area. >> what was the mood of the neighborhood? >> very erie. >> beau ebenezer was a reporter in peoria. >> a lot of people really wanted to know what happened. they're going to sleep every night, not really sure who killed their neighbor. >> one neighbor says with two small kids at home, she's feeling panicked and even a little paranoid. >> tips started coming in right away. diane parrish, who lived a few houses from nathan and denise, remembered seeing a strange man on her street right around the time of her murder. >> describe the man you saw walking along this road? >> he had a black hoodie sweatshirt on with the hood pulled up, and his hands were in the pocket. i will never forget the look on that man's face. >> what was so odd about the look on his face?

>> he was very agitated. i knew immediately something was wrong with him. >> neighbors were anxious, and detectives were puzzled. denise's neighborhood was normally very quiet. not the type of place you'd expect a burglary, even if she had accidentally stumbled upon an intruder, how had it turned so vicious so quickly? >> why would somebody want to turn it to this particular house? >> it's not typical as far as a burglary that results in a murder. >> maybe it wasn't a burglary at all. coming up, if it wasn't a burglary, what was it? was nathan's life also in danger? >> nathan's parents told me nathan and three children have been moved to a safe house just to protect them. when dateline continues.

hospitalizations are highest level in decades for this time a year, according to the cdc. the elderly have been hit the hardest, followed by young children. this comes as a few are few vaccines have been administered compared to last year. and housekeeper nancy pelosi is speaking out for the first time since her husband paul was brutally attacked in their san francisco home. pelosi said paul, who is released from the hospital on thursday, has a long road ahead but the families hopeful for his recovery. now, back to dateline. >> it looked like a burglary gone bad. denise leuthold, mother and missionary, brutally shot and killed in her parents home where she and her family had been living. >> typical scenario, robberies happening in peoria. this one just happens to be a lot worse. >> it's not typical as far as a burglary that results in a murder. it doesn't happen very often.

>> this was an odd one. detectives needed to know more about denise and begin questioning her family, including nathan, her husband of 17 years. >> you talking to us and cooperating with us is the best information we can get. >> we want to talk to the people closest to her first to figure out what makes her tick, what's her routine like. >> did you start to think someone may have targeted denise? >> we didn't know. i mean, nathan, he is going to be our best witness, you know? you're living with this lady, married for a long time, you know her routine. >> did you think maybe someone had a reason to be in that house, outside of just a random burglary? >> we didn't know. but we needed to lockdown at that point, initially. we needed to make sure we locked down what she planned on doing that today. >> and they started at the very beginning. >> she woke about 6:45 which is normal. i was already shaving and

showering. >> where the kids up? what time did they wake up? >> she gets them up at 6:45. >> nathan told police he took the two older children to school and went on a series of errands that day, including going to a spotty buy a gift certificate for denise. >> was it for? >> a massage. >> do you remember how much you spent? >> $74. >> police learned the spent the morning at home with four year old jenelle until she drover her to daycare in the afternoon. nathan said denise had her own list of things to do that day. >> she had gone to the mall, head of the errands to run. >> we're going to try and get video of her. we have to figure out where she was at and -- >> we have to place the last time we can see her, and we can narrow the window down. >> it's tedious and we appreciate you cooperating, believe me. >> by mid afternoon, when denise should have been done

shopping and on her way to pick up julia, nathan said he tried reaching her but couldn't. at first, he wasn't concerned. >> so i called, she didn't answer. no big deal, she's driving. so i sent her a text. >> he became worried once he got home and saw denise's wasn't in the driveway. it looked like the house had been broken into. >> i don't know what to think. she's not answering my phone calls, she's not answering my mom's phone calls. she didn't go to the school. she didn't call. where is she at? if she's late, if she broke down, if she had a flat tire, she would've called from her cell phone. i'm going through all these 101 options and my head. >> detectives then asked nathan the uncomfortable questions they ask anyone who's spouse has been murdered -- >> this is kind of a personal question, and take no offense because we have to cover every base. at any time has a wife ever done anything behind your back, have you had any issues, any boyfriends, anything like that? >> no. >> what about you?

>> no. >> did he describe a good marriage? >> yes. he described denise as the backbone of the family. if it wasn't for her, he wouldn't be able to do his work. she does everything for the kids. >> she is the main one that holds it all together. she did everything that made the kid's lives spin. >> then denise sounds like a saint. >> she probably was. >> everyone we talked to had nothing but good things to say about her. >> must have really perked your attention, that this woman is considered to be this amazing mom, does this religious work, why would you have any enemies? >> i mean, nothing was coming to the forefront. >> nathan said he was doing his best to hold it together so he could help them catch the killer. but he was anxious to be with his children. >> we appreciate the cooperation, and as much information we can get from you, the better. it's going to help us. >> help me get back to my kids tonight.

>> we hope you will be. >> i can't leave them all that long. >> nathan finally did leave the police station late that night. hours after his wife had been killed. he went to his sister's home, where his children were sound asleep. >> i was exhausted. i was emotionally spent. i spent the next several hours with my mother and my sister, and at some point i fell asleep. with my sister trying to comfort me. >> the next day, nathan said he was struggling with the fact that his wife was gone. and now had to explain that to his kids. >> i had been with jenelle when i found out. i hadn't been with seth and julia. at that point, i didn't know what they, knew what they found, out what they had seen on the news or whatever else. i didn't want them to find out the way that i had found out. >> how did you tell the children, that their mother had been killed? >> it was friday morning,.

i believe the children suspected something. after they had eaten, and after i had spent time begging the lord for wisdom and strength to know what to say, we took them upstairs to one of the bedrooms, and it was the oldest two at that point, seth and julia, and my sister was there with me, and we sat down on the bed, and i said mom went home to be with god. we know she loves us. we know that we loved her. at that point, i reached out for them. and we just hugged. and it was quiet. my tears soaked their faces, and their tears soaked my face.

and then we prayed. and we thanked god for the most wonderful mother and wife to have ever been on this earth. >> later, nathan took the children and went to stay at a church mission house in a nearby town. >> nathan's parents told me nathan and the three children had been moved to a safe house, just to protect them. they didn't know if they are being targeted for anything. >> his friend, norm, often brought them home cooked meals. >> nathan was very quiet, almost in a state of shock, maybe? i had noticed him, when we were in the living room alone together, and it was just complete silence. it felt a little awkward, but i could see him just staring into space, almost. >> in the meantime, denise's parents made the difficult choice to return to their home, the scene of the crime.

a few days later, they ask nathan and the kids to come over to be with family. >> how was he with you the first time you saw him after denise was killed? >> he seemed very emotional. he originally said he didn't want to come back in the house, that the kids were afraid to come in. >> it was a lot to take in. denise was dead. three young children were without a mother. and nathan said he lost the love of his life. detectives worked around the clock to solve the crime, and as they did, they began to get the idea that not everything was as it seemed. coming up, this is strange. denise had just gotten home when she was killed. so, where was her car? some place else? >> she's been shot in the house, okay? i need to figure out how that car got to robinson park. >> when dateline continues.

>> in the weeks after denise's death, nathan and his children 's day-to-day church mission houses. friend norm visited. he said nathan seemed quiet, stoic. >> i've never seen nathan in an emotional state as far as crying, or in panic, or anything like that. i took it as he was just really stressed out, and what's

happening? to my family right now? why did this happen? >> as denise's parents are wondering the same thing, they also began to ask other questions. >> we kept going over the robbery, like how it would've happened, and it didn't really make sense. >> what was suspicious about what was taken? >> i worked at a store that sold high-def tvs, we had a lot of small ones they could've just picked up, taken away. you know, electronics, blue ray players, none of those things were touched. i only had probably three rings that were of any value but those three rings were taken. those are the only three that were valuable? >> something seemed off to police as well. >> the more we start looking at the house, it didn't seem like a real burglary. there was a junk drawer that was perfectly laying on the floor. why would a burglar even go

through a junk drawer, pens? things like that, scissors. and then lay it? >> they analyzed things nathan had told him during his interview at the police station the night of the murder, like the fact he owned three guns. >> i got a shotgun. >> well do you know what -- >> 12 gauge shotgun. >> what else you got? >> i have a 22. silver with pearl handle, little. they have a primary, one which is a glock. >> which model? >> model i don't know it's a 40. >> a lot of things about the guns that didn't add up for police. starting with the fact that he happened to own the same type of gun used in denise murder. >> how did he explain that? >> he couldn't. >> i think he was trying to allude to the fact of the burglar must-have got into it and taking it. >> nathan told police he kept that gun in a plastic case. >> you kept it locked then? how hardwood before someone to

pry it open? but you need a crowbar something? >> no. >> there is no broken case at the house. that said a lot to the detectives. >> i asked him why out of the box? he didn't know but tried to insinuate burglar took it. burglars aren't going to take a busted lock box after the kill somebody. they're gone. >> nathan told them he last fired that gun in oklahoma. >> a couple weeks ago? >> i could look at mike calendar but yeah, a couple weeks ago. >> nothing here lately? >> i shot the 40 when i was there. >> there is something else troubling police. even though denise had been killed in her home her car was found in a nearby park. the police figured whoever drive it over there must have been involved in the denices murder. >> this is the problem. she's been shot in the house, i need to figure out how that car got to robinson park. >> a key to that car was found tangled in denise is hair, under her head. so, clearly, that key was used to move the car. there had to be another one. >> i'm trying to figure out how

many sets of keys are out there because i'm trying to find a set of keys. >> i know there's one set of keys, and whenever i have borrowed -- when i've driven the car to get something fixed on it, oil change, whatnot. i just ask for the keys and she gives me the keys. or she says, there on the plate. >> none of that made any sense to the detectives. there had to be a second key somewhere visible in the house in order for an intruder to easily find it and drive the car to the park. there was no other way, they said. >> -- and he shoots her. that guy is getting out of town. he's not going to wait to try and find a spare set of keys in the house. he's leaving. >> questions about denise is car lead to questions about nathan's car, and something he said caught the detectives attention. >> was your vehicle, every at robertson park today? >> my vehicle was that robertson park today, yes. >> for what? when was this? >> early this morning. not early, but it would've been

before i came back to the house. >> but was it down there for? >> a pulled over to make a phone call. >> it turns out on the day of the murder, nathan was at the same park where denise is car was later found. and that's when one of the detectives got frustrated with nathan's whole story, and confronted him. >> it's not a coincidence that we're missing a 40 caliber glock handgun, and there's evidence that leads us to believe your wife was probably shot with a 40 caliber handgun. okay? and then, furthermore, to have her car down the street at the park, right, where you failed to tell us that you are there prior to going home earlier that day. >> it was a short phone call. i didn't think -- >> i know, but i mean, thing is, we're talking about things that once you start piecing things together, we're trying to figure things out. >> i understand. >> okay, so if you are at the park, at the exact same park your wife's car was at, i need to figure out how your wives car got there. >> okay.

i don't have the answer. >> you don't have a key either. >> correct. >> it wasn't just that nathan stop to take a short phone call, it was who was on the other end of the line that piqued their interest. >> he said he received a phone call from a lithuanian exchange student. >> that's how she came on your radar? >> she was 20 year old aina dobilaite, the young exchange student who had been close to the family for years. she baby sat for them in the, and they were sponsoring her as a student in the u.s.. what was that call about? >> it kind of kept snowballing from there, we figured we had to go up and track her down. >> coming up, a missionaries an usual close relationship with a young exchange didn't. >> did you outright ask her where you having a sexual relationship with nathan? >> yes, she denied it. >> when dateline continues.

>> police found denise leuthold, a 39-year-old mother of three, shot to death in her home. at first, it looked like a possible burglary gone bad. after questioning her husband, nathan, and combing the crime scene, detective started to see things differently. >> things weren't adding up. we're not accountants, but we know it doesn't add up. >> police wanted to look more closely at the lithuanian student nathan had spoken to on the phone the day of the murder. he and denise had met her on their first missionary trip in 1998. >> there is a church that was their already established, and that church really took us in and did their best to communicate with us and helped us out and there was a particular women in the church we worked with, it was aina's mother. >> dobilaite just a child at the time. as she grew, up a relationship with the family grew as well. >> a teenager, very clear she

had given her life to the lord and wanted to serve him. she was always the one volunteering, helping out church alongside her mother. she was very gifted, and music, and as we started branching out the ministry, aina was the one that took care of music. >> when she was 16, she became a babysitter for nathan and denise's three children. >> aina was the one helping us with children at church. it was natural for denise to want to hire her, and we trusted her 100% with them. and that's how she came to be a part of our family. >> you ended up bringing her over to america? >> we were her sponsors in the us, her yes. she came here for education. her desire from the beginning was to go back to help her own country and the church there. how to use music for the lord. >> that sponsorship started in the fall of 2010, one aina came to the u.s. to study at a christian college in florida were nathan would occasionally visitor.

but what did denise think about that? >> i asked for more than once, aren't you jealousies traveling around with this young girl? she was like, no. she wasn't jealous. at all. >> this was a girl they wanted to -- >> exactly. and she trusted nathan. >> during school vacations, aina would stay in peoria with the whole family. >> she was really good with the kids. she seemed like she was a sweet girl. >> if your daughter liked her -- >> she was a friend of our daughters. and son-in-law. we accepted her into our home. >> in december 2011, aina leapt that florida school. she was so close with the leuthold family, she moved in with nathan, denise, and denise's parents well she attended a community college in peoria. >> it wasn't the first time we've done that. so aina was one of many we worked with. it was very natural. >> we had sponsored other lithuania students before to come here. it didn't really seem strange to us that's what they were doing. >> they were making a difference in this girl's life? >> they're giving her a chance

to come here, get a college education here. >> six months before denise's death, aina transferred to a college in chicago, 160 miles from peoria. police drove there to talk to her. >> when we first art of the interview, there was a lot of background information, and we were coming across this concern for denise. he lived for him for years, you've known the family, and she was fine. as we started ramping up the questioning, getting more direct about her relationship with nathan, all of a sudden perfectly speaking english girl starts in, i don't understand that. or i'm not going to answer that question. it turned into more of a cold stare, and no emotion whatsoever. >> you describe it like a staring contest?

>> we threw out their crime scene pictures of denise laying dead, autopsy pictures to get a reaction. she had no emotion. i called her out on it. i said these people take you into their home, right back from the idea, you lived with them. that doesn't bother you? and she just looked at me, stone cold. i cried enough over the weekend. >> detectives asked her about something they learned as they traced nathan's movements today at the murder. remember, one of the places he said he visited was this day spa, where he bought a valentine's day gift certificate for denise. when detective stopped there, they discovered nathan had been bringing another woman to the spa. it was not other than aina. it happened so often, the owner said, she thought they were a couple. >> he's taking this woman and her early twenties, an exchange student, to the spa. >> to get massages, to get her waxed up. in the front yard, if my wife found up i was waxing a 20 year old. it didn't make sense. i kept on explaining. i asked her what is he waxing up?

she didn't answer. >> they asked her about the bill, which nathan paid. >> she framed it as it's his money, and it's denise's money. if he is spending the money, she should be all right with it. >> did you ask, are we having a sexual relationship with nathan? and what was her response? >> she denied it. >> then aina mentioned something the sparked her curiosity. she studied music her whole life, and had gone to college in florida to play the piano. but she told detectives she left the school because of problems with her hands. >> it was officially titled academic withdrawal. >> they subpoenaed aina's school records. >> the records we got said her dismissal had something to do with inappropriate relationships with her sponsor, including staying off campus overnight with just them. >> that sponsor, of course, was nathan. police learned more about their relationship when they pulled nathan and aina's phone records. >> what did you find on her

phone? >> they communicated a lot more than nathan lead on. it didn't look like a typical sponsor relationship. there was multiple texts and calls every day. >> she's denying a sexual relationship were the text messages, suggesting otherwise? >> there was one that mentioned i think she was done at the gym, and he asked her if she was wet. i didn't find that appropriate for their relationship they were leading on. the biggest thing was the sheer volume of contact they had. you're saying you're just checking on her, making sure she's doing good in school. it had the appearance of a dating type of relationship. >> coming up, more questions for and about nathan. >> my husband thought he's a missionary, he wouldn't kill anybody.

had denise leuthold been killed by an intruder, a part of a bill or cooley gone wrong, or had somebody close to her been involved? denise's parents believed her daughter had been killed by a stranger in till their minister came to visit one day. >> he asked us, we'll, do you have any suspicions that your son-in-law was involved? we both answered no, but as soon as i said no i was like, wait a minute. then i of course started having suspicions. my husband was kind of shocked, because he thought he is a missionary, he would not kill anybody. >> but investigators were not so sure. they began to take a hard look at nathan's whereabouts that day. they collected surveillance video from the places that they said he'd been. while he was at those places, chase bank, starbucks, the day spot, the car wash, there was a problem. >> we are able to account for him up until about 11:30 in the morning, and then there was a

gap between him leaving the starbucks around 11:30 and when he shows backed up at the same starbucks around 12:45 pm. in between then we could not account for him anymore. >> that gap was crucial because it was during that timeframe that police believe the murder happened. the detectives even traced a route nathan might have taken that day from the starbucks to the park, a quick walk to his house, and then back to the starbucks to see if he could've done it in time. >> six minutes 55 seconds. >> not only possible, they said, but probable. more likely, they figured then a stranger breaking into the house during the roughly 20 minutes nice was. out >> is unconcealed think anybody breaks into the house of that same time, ran runs through the house, finds a glock, prized open, loads it up, hides behind the door, to execute her. it just cannot happen.

>> something else that didn't make sense was that denise's car was not in her driveway. after the murder, they found her silver forward here in this nearby park. nathan had told police that he only knew of one key, the key that was found the crime scene. but now, police had a second key that they found in this trash can in the park. they believe that nathan was lying to them and that he had to use that key to move the car. another suspicious finding, a black hooded sweatshirt on the floor of nathan indonesia's bedroom. investigators said it seemed to match the one a strange man was wearing that day. >> it appeared to us that someday was in a hurry, took it off, and through. dad >> there was something else that was even more troubling. police had ordered an extensive analysis of nathan's laptop. a couple of weeks after the murder, they received a report. >> the computer expert explained that his browser was set to delete anything that he looked up. as we found out, just because

you delete something does not mean it's gone. what they found floor of them. >> it rained from how to silence a 40 caliber handgun. >> a glock specifically, which is the gun he owned. >> and she was shot with. how do you silence that. and overdose somebody with insulin. drowned in the bathtub. this goes back several months before the murder. >> so he is potentially thinking up all of these ways to kill his wife. >> i honestly think, he played it out. >> did you straight-up ask him, did you have anything to do with your wife's death? >> and? >> he said no. >> not only did he deny killing his wife, nathan told us that there was a perfectly good explanation for all of those internet searches police uncovered. electrocution in the bathtub, how to silence a gun -- we started a foundation overseas called hope for tomorrow to combat suicide. we were doing research and

looking at blog sites where young people, desperate people, we're giving information about what they were thinking. >> still, it was obvious from nathan's interview video that detectives had questions about his story early on. >> i would love to think that you are a god fearing man, and you would never do that. but -- >> do you have a preconceived idea in your? head >> no no no no. i do not have a preconceived idea. but what i am painting a picture, and i'm trying to put the pieces together, okay, as a homicide investigator, i have to either rule you in or rule you out. >> and you want to rule me in based on? that >> no no no no, i would rather rule you out so i can move on. >> you want romeo based on what? roll you out, i want to rule you out because i hope you didn't do it. >> between learning about aina and all the evidence they collected, police had enough to arrest nathan.

three weeks after denise had been killed, they pulled her husband over. he had just dropped kids off at school. >> the handcuffed me, they put me in their car. at that point i did not know where we were going. finally, i asked them, where are we going? what's going on? we are taking you to jail for the murder of your wife. >> he seemed scared, he seemed surprised. i think it's just belief that he was being arrested. >> it was a shock. nathan leuthold missionary, and father of free, and son of peoria was on his way to jail to await murder of his wife. his friend, norm, who had known the couples for decades was stunned. >> there is no doubt in my mind that nathan was arrested because they needed somebody in jail. there is no way that i could

ever fathom nathan doing this to his wife. >> coming up. hard to imagine anyone doing something this evil, if it is true. >> this was his valentine's day present to aina, and it is despicable. >> when dateline continues.

three weeks after denise leuthold was shot to death, her husband, nathan was arrested for her murder. at first, to needs his mother could not quite grasp it. >> he was part of our family for 17 years. you know, he was like a son to us. to think that he could actually you know, shooter in the head. >> this is a man who devoted his life to being a good for some. >> exactly. >> by the time nathan went on trial, she had changed her mind. >> he had been leading a double

life. >> this was just a bad dream that wouldn't? and >> it kept going on, and on, and on. >> this just won't and until -- >> exactly. >> nathan is convicted. >> the trial was big news in town, after all, the defendant was a missionary accused of killing their wife in their home in an upscale neighborhood. things like that just don't happen in peoria. nathan pleaded not guilty. he insisted he would not have done anything to harm his beloved wife. >> every time there is a difficulty in life, the first person i would talk to would-be denise. and there are several times. there are several times in the first few days after her death, trying to figure out what to do with the children next, i want to grab the phone and call her. she was my support. >> but need denise was not there to support nathan, because, the state argued, he killed her.

>> you will have eyewitness identification, dna, gunshot residue, motive, and they all point to one person. he is sitting right across me. >> nathan's trial began on july 14th, exactly 17 months after the murder. reporter bo ebenezer covered the trial for nbc's w. ike tv in peoria. or a lot of people anxious for the trial to start? >> a lot of people were anxious, especially the family. the family wanted to find out what it really happened. >> jody hughes and jerry brady where the prosecutors who try the case. they said what really happened was a cold blooded execution. >> ladies and gentlemen burglars commit burglaries. killers execute with a style consistent with what the defendant did. to kill her the moment she walked through the door. the >> state's theory -- nathan put his plan into action

when denise left the house to take their daughter to daycare. first he drove his car to the park down the street. >> he parked his car i'm robinson park, somewhere close to 12:15 to 12:20, walked up to the house, went into the house. the burglar is probably already staged, if not he would've done that. and then he knew that this denise would be coming back, stood in the doorway, and as soon as the door opened he tried to take her coat off, and he shot on the back of that. >> nathan then drove nieces car to the same park, prosecutors said, and hop back in his own car and drove to starbucks arriving at 12:45. >> 12:45 to 12:50. five minutes, only. but long enough to be on that camera. >> long enough they said, for nathan to wash his hands to get the gunshot residue off and then leave to start his afternoon errands, before picking up janelle from daycare. >> before 3:00, the defendant returns home.

he wants to do believe that he sees the door opening glass. that is the extent of his knowledge. but with that, he calls the police. >> he knew full well when he called the police. >> from our perspective, that is what makes this case so disturbing. the cold, calculated manner in which he did this. >> one of the first officers to testify for the state described the scene at the house just after nathan called 9-1-1 that day. >> i observed some kitchen cabinets opened and some kitchen drawers on the floor. in my experience, as a police officer and investigator, when a burglary it occurs the kitchen is not a commonplace that a burglar would look for items. a burglary also items are scattered about. doors jumped on the floor. i felt this was not an ordinary burglary, and i express that my partner. >> while he found the crime scene odd for a burglary, it was nathan's behavior that

struck the officer even. more >> describe his demeanor. >> as i'm speaking to him he never showed any sort of emotion, asked any questions of me about what is going on. >> prosecutors also said that nathan showed no emotion during the police interview, even one a detective told him that denise was head. >> you cannot tell me things about her. i >> can tell you she's dead. >> you told me that. >> okay. in the elevator. >> prosecutors played the interview for the jurors, hoping they would see what they saw. when >> the police first gave us the case, i watched his videotape statements. five minutes into it i knew he did. i knew he was guilty. his demeanor, his attitude, he tried to take over the conversation. not a single tier was shed. >> they presented evidence that the bullet casings found at the scene was from a clock 40, the guy had kind of gone that nathan owned. >> the only firearm that could

generate those marks could be a glock. >> are you able to say that within a reasonable degree of scientific certainty? >> yes. >> but police never did find the murder weapon. >> did you worry that you are not able to find the gun? was that a factor? >> obviously was a concern. >> i think anytime in a murder case when you do not have the handgun, or the weapon, or whatever it was, it is an uphill battle because that's what the jury want. they want the smoking gun, and we did not have it. >> still, prosecutors thought that they had more than enough evidence to prove their case. remember diane parrish, who said that she saw a man in a black hooded sweatshirt walking towards denise's house on the day of the murder. she was the closest thing please had to an eyewitness. >> the whole thing struck me as wrong. i thought, i told my husband to slow down. i wanted to get a good look at him. i was worried that he saw a pulling out of our driveway, and if he knew that we were gone, he would rob us. >> she did not recognize the

man that day, but later when she looked at a police photo lineup, she quickly pointed to this man and it turned out to be nathan leuthold. >> did you think it was possible you are looking at this photo lineup, that maybe you had seen nathan in the neighborhood and subconsciously are choosing that photo because you had already seen before? >> no. >> why were you so sure? >> because of the look on his face. i knew i did not make a mistake. i was very careful when i looked at the photos, so i would not make a mistake. >> when she testified, you could hear a pin drop in that courtroom. everybody was glued to her testimony. i do not think there was a person in that courtroom that disbelieved what she was saying. >> prosecutors said it must of been nathan that the neighbor saw that day. police found a black hooded sweatshirt on his bedroom floor. what's more, an expert testified that it had gunshot residue on the right cuff. >> nathan said that he had been

at the gun range. is that feasible that, he was shooting off's gun at the gun range to be residue? >> what's important to is that he said it was an oklahoma, two weeks prior. there is no way there would've been gunshot residue on that sweatshirt still. >> on the stand, another neighbor who did not want to be videotaped, testified that she heard a gunshot that day between 12:30 and 12:40, in the time frame detectives thought sneeze was killed. prosecutors said that gave nathan the opportunity to kill denise. now they had to explain why he did it. they called this man to the stand, who said that they could answer that precise question, because nathan told him everything. >> would you state your name? >> dave it's mid. >> david smith was a fellow inmate of nations at the county jail. he said nathan told him that he raced urged ways to kill denise on his laptop. >> you talked about how he's planning to kill his wife denise? >> first he told me that he was

thinking about some poisoning, with some type of insulin or potassium. something like that. >> according to the inmate, nathan said he ran a lot of aaron's on the day of the murder, to create an alibi and -- >> he told me he presented some gifts, some valentine's day gift some stuff to his wife. and, so that everything would look fine. >> how important was david's mom admits, the jailhouse snitch? >> david say that nathan was worried that lane might have seen him when he was walking. obviously no one knows that besides nathan, and it is consistent with our evidence. >> what's more, the inmate also testified why nathan wanted denise out of his life. >> well, he said that she was overbearing and that he had got to the point where he had wanted to move on with this life, and he had met somebody else, and stuff like that.

>> did he tell you the name of that someone else? >> some student name anna, lana, something like that. >> but it was what the inmate told prosecutors about the timing of the murder that they found particularly chilling. smith testified that nathan told him he had planned the murder specifically for valentine's day. >> it was supposed to be some type of president to this other check. >> to a, think you referred her as anna,? >> and there it was. nathan's motive. prosecutors said he killed his wife so that he could be with his true love, aina. >> this was valentine's day present to aina and that is despicable. >> aina, who said prosecutor said was nathan's motive for the murder, it was about to take the stand. the star witness at the biggest trial in town. >> please state your name. >> aina dobilaite.

>> coming up, nathan's note to aina. >> there is nothing more important me to you than this relationship. >> and the note for the woman that he is accused of murdering. >> he is speaking from the grave, in a way. >> absolutely. >> when dateline continues. >>

i'm dara, brown here's what's happening. thousands of twitter employees been laid off after elon musk took over social media company. for those left go were content moderators to help spread the disinformation and hate speech. and it is going to be a busy weekend in pennsylvania, with president biden and former president barack obama campaigning for john fetterman. meanwhile, his republican opponent, mehmet oz, we'll get a visit from former president donald trump. now back to dateline. nathan leuthold was on trial

for murdering his wife on valentine's day, 2013. a scenario impossible to have predicted for a man devoted to god, who appeared to have been happily married to his high school sweetheart for 17 years. what would make him commit such crime? the state argued that he was in love with another woman. >> the motive? israel valentine, the 20-year-old lithuanian sponsor student. aina dobilaite, his motive for murder. >> i think i know it was a big bombshells. >> aina testified both english and lithuanian, through a translator. >> he met with you in hotels of kansas and at least five occasions. correct? >> [interpreter] i cannot remember how many times. >> during those visits you went

to a hotel with nathan, and just a two viewer present part of the time correct? >> [speaking non-english] [interpreter] i am not sure if every time we are at the hotel together we were there alone. >> did you spend the night with mr. leuthold? >> aina was called as a witness for the prosecution, which granted her immunity and encouraged her to talk. her testimony made it clear that she was not eager to help the state. >> when mr. leuthold visited you in chicago in 2012, did he buy you presence? >> [speaking non-english] [interpreter] i'm not really sure what presents mean. >> despite having studied in the states for four years, aina seemed incapable of understanding english at times, with understand which frustrated prosecutors a time. >> you are proficient in both written and spoken english, is that correct? >> yes.

>> still, the prosecution thought she was a important witness. >> i think it was significant for the jury to see ina. we could get in on the text messages, the emails, the phone calls, the jury is going to hear all. that >> the state show the jury text between nathan and aina on the day of the murder. they started at 30 7:36 am with mutual halos. at 8:37 am, nathan texted aina. i know there is a lot to do today, i pray that there is enough time to do everything. have a good lecture and meeting. take care of yourself. then, after nathan arrived home mid afternoon, ina texted him. he replied, i cannot now. police checked. it looks like the house was robbed. >> she responded interesting smallwood by a smiley face. >> for they would should respond all my what happened, with concern for the family. so i would suspect that based

on that response you had some knowledge about what was going to take place. >> prosecutors accuse nathan of coaching aina during jailhouse phone calls on how to cover up the relationship. those calls were in lithuania, but during the trial translations were red ally loud. >> i'm your spiritual adviser -- this may be important in the future because just as all your communication with the private is private communication with your coach is also private. >> but, prosecutors said, there was no covering up ladders nathan had sent i know, including this one read by an interpretation or during a deposition. >> i love you because you understand me better than anybody else and i'm a better person with you next to me. my life is deeper meaning and purpose because you are my world and my everything, and that will never change. >> with words like that, prosecutors did not believe aina denials of an affair with

nathan. they made her read out loud another if use of note that nathan center just a month before the murder. >> i let you down i'm sorry, i'm not going to make excuses, that would not be fair to you. you deserve someone who respects some un puts a relationship first. for now on i want to do all that i can to be that person. there is nothing more important to me than you in this relationship, i'm so blessed to have you in my. life >> she was in a relationship with nathan and i think that she tried to minimize the relationship. >> nathan and i know we're making eye contact quite a bit throughout the trial. sometimes when she would not answer a question, or say something that he did not like, he would laugh and throws hands up in the air and disappointment. >> prosecutor set another piece of evidence that they said proved an affair. a secret that shook the courtroom. it challenged the very core of nathan's defense that denise was at the center of his life, and that he would never hurt her. it was a got ranging note written by denise discovered tucked in her day planner.

>> in a murder case you do not have the victim. you never get to hear the victims story. that person is dead. and here we had a note that she had written, spelling the whole thing out. >> the highly personal, very painful note was obviously aimed at nathan. police investigator read the note in court. >> i have tried to please you for 17 years and never succeeded. i have never been good enough, never done enough. i know that you want me dead. i am not stupid. >> denise seemed to conserve firm that she believed her husband was having an affair. while she did not name aina she mentioned a much younger women. you >> want to humiliate me with running around with a 20 year old, fine. i will not grovel. if i have not pleased to in 17 years, nothing i do now will please you. how long are you going to do this to me? oh yeah, until i break. that is what you said isn't it? well, happy waiting. >> it was very devastating. i was shocked that it had gone

that far. she really was jealous, even though she said that she was not. >> she was speaking from the grave in? away >> absolutely. to the jury. to everybody. her story. that note was powerful. powerful. >> powerful, but not proof said nathan's attorney. in fact, he argued that there is no evidence that nathan had done anything wrong at all. >> it is premature judgment that this all happened because he was having their fair and i would submit as i started off with you, that there is not a scintilla of evidence that he has been accused. >> coming up. >> he was the only person with whom i could talk within lithuanian. he was a friend. >> were you a nathan ever lovers? >> when dateline continues.

nathan leuthold had spent a week listening to prosecutors paint him as a monster who had planned the execution of his wife. but now, it was time for the defense to fight back. >> to say that i killed my wife goes beyond what i ever fathom to hearing from anyone. and to say that i had an affair is absurd. >> i think that nathan was being tested by god about his fate. i think nathan you've got to be strong, and we will get through. this >> nathan's lawyer was hugh tone or, a former prosecutor turned defense attorney who argued that the investigation was faulty. >> there were certain preconceived notions of who did it, for lack of a better term, who that never went anywhere. for that reason, i am willing to ask you to find eight and not. guilty >> tone or insisted that the cops zeroed in on nathan right from the start, and never

pursued any other leads. >> this was an incomplete investigation. that while, the spouse, nathan in this case, would've been the logical place to start, the problem with that is that if you follow that gut feeling it is going to cost you, very likely, to miss other things. in this case, simply not look for them at all. for instance what about the cars nathan inseam in the venture neighborhood that he thought was specific suspicious right before the murder? >> they did call the neighbor to the stand who had also seen strange activity. >> i saw a vehicle parked with its headlights on for some extended period of time five, ten minutes at least, which i consider to be somewhat unusual. i felt with the direction of the headlights that, whoever was in the vehicle, could probably see me in my residence

and it would've been uncomfortable. >> when he cross-examined diane parrish, who identified nathan in the sweat shirt on the day of the murder, she admitted that her husband had a different recollection. >> you and your husband had a discussion about the race of the person who is walking along the side of the road? >> that is correct. >> and your husband believed it was a black man? and >> that is correct. >> another problem with the investigation, the defense pointed out, was that while the state made a big deal about the gunshot residue on athens sweatshirt, they never tested his hands for the substance. >> why not cut to the chase and take a test from nathan? >> donor said that there is also an issue with the states timeline. based on court testimony, the murder occurred at around 12:40 pm. after that, prosecutor said that nathan would've had to drive nieces car to the park, get to his own car, and then drive to starbucks where he was

seen on surveillance video at 12:45 pm. >> he would've had to known all of that without leaving any blood smears, getting any blood on him. it was all coming down to that crucial 15 minute window. we decided to see for ourselves how long that drive would take. we retraced what investigators said we're nathan steps that day. i've just left knees in nathan's house and i'm heading to robinson park, which is just a few blocks away. ♪ ♪ ♪ i am now allowing out robinson park. it took me one minute and 15 seconds. this is where police say the cars were switched. >> so now we are going to switch cars, take another drive, in the second car we are going to drive to starbucks. let's see how long that takes. ♪ ♪ ♪ red light, that is going to add on a little bit of time. we are now at four and a half

minutes. going just about the speed limit, right on, which is 40 my miles per hour. pulling into the starbucks parking lot. we are looking at a travel time of seven minutes and 55 seconds. >> all in all, it added up to nine minutes and ten seconds of driving. that would've left him just under six minutes to ransacked the house and shoot to nice. his lawyer, hugh tone, or said that would've been nearly impossible. >> the timing just really gets to the point where it is almost not realistic. >> what about the states witness who claimed that nathan had confessed the whole crime to him? the defense argued that david smith was a jailhouse snitch, a convicted felon who had gotten a deal first testimony. he was not even worth cross examining. >> do you really believe that

david smith is the type of person that nathan is going to confide in? and then seek counsel from? >> but according to the defense, the main weakness with the states case was motive. an affair with aina. tone or argued there is no evidence to support the theory that nathan killed his wife so that he could be with a 20-year-old. no matter who asked her, aina insisted her relationship with nathan was platonic. >> what is your relationship between you and? nathan >> he is my sponsor. i worked for him. i did a lot of translating work and helping with the organizing of christian conferences and lithuania. he is also like my mentor, and here in america he was the only person with whom i could talk

in lithuania. so he was a friend. >> the defense attorney said the state was making more of those spa visits them was really there. >> would mr. leuthold be there with you when you are having a waxing? >> he was there just to drive me and pay for it. >> but he was not there when the procedure was being? done >> no. >> were you and nathan ever lovers? >> no. >> that has been asked of you many times, correct. >> police asked are you directly. correct? >> that is true. >> the answer is never changed house? >> that is correct. >> the bottom line was this. the state never even came close to proving a sexual relationship, not even with the hundreds of phone calls nathan made from jail over his 16 months. there >> 1700 hours. of recorded telephone conversations involving nathan

leuthold. do the math. at 40 hours a week, you are approaching two almost an entire work here. listening to telephone conversations involving nathan. where in any one of those things do you have any indication at all that nathan and aina your lovers? >> in fact, for all of the searches through nathan and aina cell phones, tone or discover something that is especially telling. >> how many people, particularly young people, are going to have a relationship with a significant other and not have a picture? of their significant other? that they find any photos, anything that would indicate

that nathan and aina were involved in that way? no. >> without a motive, and without hard egg vince, nathan pulled the trigger. tone or said that all the prosecution had were lies, misinterpretations, and omissions. >> that is what nathan's, and i would suggest you respectfully, that that was what i would ask the verdict that you return. >> although nathan leuthold did not take the stand, he would have plenty to say about the evidence and his innocence. particularly that chilling note left behind by his wife. >> she essentially spoke from the grave saying that you are humiliating her with a 20 year old. coming up. nathan's answer at the jury's verdict. >> i was 99% sure that they had to come back with a guilty verdict. >> when dateline continues.

>> nathan's murder trial was nearing its end. he had to decide whether to

testify. at the last-minute, he chose not to. >> you understand that that is not something that will be -- ? >> why did you decide not to take the stand during the trial? >> i had chosen to testify. prior to trial. but as the state continue to take things out of context, and continue to throw as much much as they could on the wall, hoping that some of it would stick. they had moved beyond what i felt where the facts of the case. i was not going to give them anymore fuel or any more fodder to use. or to misconstrue. >> but, he wanted to set the record straight with us. insisting that he is innocent. he also wanted to say that the police never looked past him to catch the real intruder in what was a real burglary. >> the police believe that it was staged. that it just looked to perfect

the way that everything was placed. and what was taken. >> things were stolen. insurance claims verify that they were stolen, and paid the claim on those items. it was a burglary. did it look like a normal burglary? i'm not sure what a normal burglary looks like. >> but what really upset nathan was how the state depicted his relationship with ina. someone that he had known since she was a little girl. someone he had mentored. >> you can see how it would look bad, go to the spa, getting waxing treatments. the text messages that went back and forth. it seems like there was something going on. >> i know had no drivers license at the time. she had no way of getting around. i was a translator. i took her four waxing treatments. it's not as if i'm in their, watching and whatever else. so, you check the records, the waxing treatment was the same day that i'm getting a haircut.

at the same place. take things out of context, you can make them say whatever you want to make them say. >> like her checks the day of the murder. >> why did she say, after the robbery, interesting, smiley face? >> you're asking me what somebody else meant. i just assumed that she had the rum prompt. in order to get to the word interesting. i understand it to mean, that's interesting, as if that's odd. that's the way i use the word over and over again for the number of years. >> one of the harshest accusations that came out of all of this. is that you killed your wife and it was a valentine's day gift for ina. >> the harshest statement. has been that i killed my wife. it doesn't matter what day it was. i intentionally did it on valentine's day as a gift?

i'm not sure that it takes a second person. the person to actually do that. or the person that suggests that. >> and what about those hunting words written by denise in that note founding in her day planner? clearly aimed that nathan. how would he answer that? >> she essentially spoke from the grave. saying that you wanted to kill her. that you are humiliating her with a 20 year old. >> the thing you're referring to says, i know you want me dead. i'm not stupid. now, to see that implies that she felt endangered? seems to go against the facts. she never share that with her best friend, her super close sister, her mother, her father, she never called police. she never called a counseling hotline. she never did any domestic

battery, restraining order, or anything. because there was none. >> did you want her dead? >> no. why would i want her dead? >> to be with ina, to groom china as your new wife? that is the accusation. >> that is the accusation by those who from day one wanted to portray something that fits modern society. fits the culture that we live in. fits the cheaters lifestyle. the jerry springer show mindset. it fits those things of making things look salacious. >> the jurors of course? never heard any of that. because nathan never took the stand. >> how nervous were you when the jury went to deliberate?

>> from a period of selfish perspective, it is my life. my future. matthew jim. it means that i could go back to being the father of the children. -- just one parents, not both. one was stolen away. by someone who is seeking -- . and a guilty verdict would steal from the children there other parents. >> for denise's family, that is exactly what they were hoping for. for the man that they had known since he was a loving boy. who had lived with them. now they believed, had lied to them. >> during deliberations. i was 99% sure that they had to come back with a guilty verdict. there is that 1% that you're thinking, oh, what if somebody? >> i really wasn't sure what the jury was going to come back with. there was a lot of evidence provided by the prosecution, i

think they did a great job at the same time there was a lot of circumstantial evidence. no evidence that actually pointed to somebody seeing him do the crime. so i think that it was very hard to tell what the jury was going to do. >> it was a highly circumstantial case and no hard proof that nathan killed denise, and no clear cut evidence that nathan and i lovers. but whatever it was, jurors heard and saw in that courtroom, it was enough. in a mere 90 minutes, they reached a verdict. >> we the jury find the defendant, nathan, guilty of first degree murder. >> what went through your mind when you found that one word? guilty? >> very close to the same feeling that i had when i heard that my wife had been shot. i would just remember hearing that the laws. just got that much greater. >> the judge sentenced nathan to 80 years in prison, seeing how shameful it was that nathan had killed her niece in her own home. >> --

[inaudible] it seems only appropriate to and your life in a very different type of place. cold and gray and isolated. in the penitentiary. >> for the state, it was a satisfying ending for a case that they had painstakingly pitch together. >> i think you try to portray this image of this wonderful person when in reality he was nothing more than a cold blooded killer. >> as for denise's parents, they are still hurting from such a sudden loss but at least they have her children close as they are now raising them. >> how did you tell them that their father killed their mother? >> they knew that. they gave them a trial for their mother and that a jury had convicted him and right away the older boy said, well, everybody makes mistakes and my

husband said no, your dad made bad choices and everyone has choices in life. and he made some really bad choices. >> bad choices. that left's parents coming to terms with the notion that everything that they knew to be true, was not. >> i feel bad for my husband because he told somebody that he always thought that we had the perfect family, the perfect life, and you just really don't expect something like that to help into you. when in reality, you know, bad things happen to good people all the time.

>> i'm craig melvin. >> and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline". >> my mom found her. she said it looked like she might have slipped in the shower. she was in the fetal position in this bathtub.

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