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style killing of doug carlisle in the kitchen of his house in south hill, it was too clear this had to have been professional hit now every availabl investigator, nearly 20 of the chased the scattered clues >> did you actually need the all? >> yes, i kept them busy one detective his whole job wa to identify the white van. >> remember the white van th neighbors saw. >> was van was unique off. it was after factor extended van that they make for certain professions, and eventuall once we were able to identif the make and model, we had washington provide all the advance, and there were 75 o them >> that possibly fit tha description. >> yes, sir. >> of course every one of thos vans had to be tracked down an that welding glove, the on outside a back gate, maybe the killer dropped it when h escaped or maybe it happened t be there they swabbed it for dna anyway they scoured social media, the internet, looking fo connections, looking for anything but then one night after christmas, a couple of weeks

after the murder >> i was at my desk and i got hit on what's called a ripof report, which i've never heard of i clicked on it, and a flier came up that basically sai beware of these two people >> what do you know, the ken and barbie, james henrikson, and his wife >> it says they're known frauds, they're running fraud scheme in north dakota, don't do an business >> as detectives had figured out now, rivalries, disputes grievances were rife aroun that oil lease project in whic doug and james and others were involved the ripoff report was put ou as a flier in stores and businesses around the oi patch. it was payback, apparently, by one particularly disgruntled former partner but not everybody was a bo scout. james, for example, had criminal record going back t his teens. anyway, when detective sesni read the flier, his eye landed on a curious detail. one of james'employees, a ma named k.c. clarke headed up and

disappeared. >> i handed it to mark, what d you think about this >> what did you think abou that >> it's the first time we ha ever heard of that name. >> so who was k.c. clarke >> he was funny, well mannered >> it didn't take long to find out, k.c was an old friend. rick airy knew him well. >> what did you do, the two of you. >> we would go up to the bar we'd chase the girls, do the normal things a guy would do during a boom, you know. >> rick and k.c. were field truck intendents fo the trucking company which sarah was helping to run >> how were you involved in th business >> i worked directly with th accountant, make sure they got signed off so we got paid. make sure payroll was signed off to the accountant, sort of the middle man >> you were a minor partner, i i can put it that way. >> it was a james show for sure

as much as people saw me all the time >> time off was rare eventually they made plans t work for a rival company >> he was extremely worrie about james finding out abou this whole transition. >> on february 22nd, 2012, k.c dropped briefly into blackstone's headquarters, and then was gone so did he leav in a huff or was it somethin else because nobody ever saw him again. >> no sign he had been missing for a year two years at this point. >> was henrikson questioned? >> he had taken a polygraph. >> and he passed >> yes, and so the two detectives got in the car an drove 700 miles so watford city, minnesota their destination, the home of james henrikson, and sarah. >> in the garage was like 2-year-old bentley, flat tires kind of almost laying on its belly. >> a bentley, an almost ne bentley. obviously not taken care of at all? >> no. >> sarah answered the door very pleasant, said th detectives and went to get james. >> how did james henrikson greet you, did he, you know, tell you a story, sit you down for a cup of tea, what >> he leaned out the door, slapped me on the shoulder, an said, it's too bad you drove

all the way, my attorney tol me not to talk you >> you got nothing >> got not >> he was a big man, 5'10" o steroided rock muscle. he bragged he was benching ove 500 pounds and he looked lik it i don't intimidate, can i grew werewolf fangs >> nothing to do but suck it u and drive the 700 miles home on the way home, detective sesnik got a blood clot that nearly killed him. they had suspects, but nothing that was coming together >> coming up, finally a clue and it's a big one >> the very top of the paper i the word glove, and then there's she'll get away rude o

google earth, practice wit pistol >> what killer makes a to do list >> who does it point to? >> jackpot >> jackpot >> when "dateline" continues

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spokane detectives burbridge and sesnick got back to grun work >> sesnick recovering from a blood clot >> i got ordered to got home but obviously i wasn't going anywhere >> the case? well, they knew they had something but what exactly >> it was just one of thos cases where we knew we were on the right track, but we also knew that there was a lot of work left. >> and for the carliles, a lot of grief alberta was a barely functioning mess >> i didn't lose just my dad i lost my mom, too because she wasn't the sam person for a really long time. >> and adding insult, doug's secrets were exposed for the whole world to see that big house on the sout hill, heavily mortgaged. the fancy cars not paid for.

the paperwork that claimed h was worth millions, a facade doug carlile was flat broke. hadn't even bought lif insurance. >> do you ever feel angry at all at doug for not providin more for like a insuranc policy or something? >> no, not at all. because he was a very good provider all the days that h was alive. and i really didn't believe in insurance policies like that i believed in trusting the lor for our finances, and that's what we did. >> secrets, just another casualty, as the little army o detectives searched th neighborhood for clues, like for example the strange find that turned up in the killer's escape path. that weirdly out of plac welding glove. they swabbed it for dna on the off chance, really, just a sho in the dark, that something in or on that glove might match dna on a felon stored in a dat bank and it did timothy suckow >> what did you think when you found this out >> i thought this could be our guy. >> was he local? >> he was local. >> he was working at irs environmental, an asbestos removal company. they don't drive around in white vans, by any chance, d

they >> >> i checked that list, and lo and behold, they owned vehicle that matched our vehicle in the video >> well, well, well, what were the chances. timothy suckow must have bee the -- muscular man in black runnin for dear life toward the equally mysterious van >> we had the swat team sittin on him we didn't want to take him t his house. >> when suckow and another man went to the house, they move in they photographed his many tattoos. >> mr. suckow is a hardened priso type individual, 275 pounds of solid muscle >> we have some paperwork an stuff, tell you what's going on >> when the interview went on, detectives made no bones about it, they thought they ha suckow, dead to rights >> today is the day to help yo out. i didn't come to you b accident my killer left something up at the house, and your dna is all over it.

no joke. the van at your work that yo drive is on my video up there. >> you guys are scaring me now >> you should be shared. >> you're looking at federal conspiracies to commit murder, fraud, life in prison. >> do i need a lawyer before w even do anything >> that's your choice. >> probably be smarter that's some serious accusation you're making. >> to this point, we'r probably beyond accusations. >> i'm just saying >> you are under arrest. and you can help yourself out. >> you can take me to jail we'll learn this out in cour because you guys are out o your tray. >> i'm not kidding about havin your dna >> let's go to jail, take it t court. >> timothy suckow was done talking. >> he looked at me and went to sleep. it's like a big emotiona release that it's finally over >> detectives rounded occupy search warrants for suckow's house and his car. >> in his car we found a ver significant piece of evidence. >> what is that? > a piece of notebook pape with a list of items to be done the top of the paper is th word glove with a question mark, and there's statements about wing man, she'll get away rude on google earth, practice with a pistol >> that's like a confession on a note pad

>> it was a to do list of ho to prepare this murder >> this is a month after the murder, and we arrest who we believe is our shooter, and he has a to-do kill list in his car. you can't make this stuff up >> suckow also had a storage unit where a surveillanc camera picked up a white van pulling up soon after th murder suckow had to be their shooter the question was who put him u to it and why. suckow wouldn't tell them, refused to say a word, so then they got a search warrant fo his phone. >> his contact list said james in md. >> jackpot >> jackpot that was the first time we had ever connected him wit henrikson. >> james and sarah arrived t become the ken and barbie of the oil patch, and before long

one man is missing, another is dead, and the suspected hitman has james on speed dial. and as for sarah, there was shock in store for her, too. >> i mean, emotionally to deal with >> oh, absolutely. it's ruined my life. >> coming up, sarah become

suspicious about her husband >> did you think at the time i wonder if james had somethin to do with this? >> it seemed fishy to me >> then she get a call from th sheriff. >> he said you need to come to my office right this second. >> when "dateline" continues

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the situation today. california's in for anothe round of wild weather, thousands are -- near santa cruz. that breach is now [inaudible] and now, that today. sometimes the best detective i named luck a dropped welding glove lead to a tattooed hitman named timothy suckow whose phone provides a direc connection to the man who ma have ordered murder of dou carlisle, james henrikson in south dakota he may have been able to rul out business partners in washington state at this point did you feel you had the outlines of what the conspiracy was

>> i felt we had a good idea o what was going on. it turned out to be a lot more >> a sentiment which when th investigation turned back to north dakota, sarah, aka, mrs. james henrikson, could have pu in exactly the same words bu for more personal reasons. >> best i remember there was rumors of james having a affair >> it's an old story, of course husband cheats on wife with younger woman. even younger than sarah, who was only in her 20s. >> what was it like to hea that he was cheating on you in the first place? >> it was hurtful, but it wa so off the wall, i just didn't believe it >> like generations of wives before her, until the truth wa impossible to avoid. >> what was that like to hear? >> horrific, and especiall when i found out with who, i

just thought absolutely not. no way >> wouldn't believe it >> wouldn't believe it i mean, she was like my little sister >> this is her, the young woma in the unpleasant little triangle but she wasn't just some other woman. this is payton martin, daughte of tex hall, the chief of th mha nation on who the travel land was the oil lease, the on james wanted so badly. payton was 19. >> you knew her? >> i had family vacationed wit her quite a bit. >> in fact, here they are in hawaii, james in the water sarah there on the paddle boar and there on another board was payton

>> i think i found a picture o her on facebook where she wa pregnant so i called her and asked her. and she said it's none of my business, but if it's my husband's get over it. >> payton denied saying that by the way but when the baby was born, very healthy and happy looking little boy, james and payton named him. >> bentley of all things >> bentley, just like that expensive automobile james bought for sarah, then left in the garage with flattene tires. >> you can't make it up. >> it's weird. it's so strange. >> bentley >> yeah. >> as you can see, he was th one who wanted the car and the name and the show.

>> chief tex hall as you might imagine was not pleased abou any of that. he banished james from the reservation. but there was something near tex nor sarah knew just then not just that the spokane cops were investigating sarah's wayward husband, out on th north dakota prairie, anothe law man had been poking around for more than a year, homeland security agent derek trudel ha heard from a colleague about the missing casey clark, and the ripoff report and othe possible crimes. >> he told me the story and it just sounded unbelievable, i what it did. >> by the time burbridge started showing up, trudel could tell him a thing or tw about james henrikson. >> how would you describe him? >> he comes across as a, i mean, just >> you're at a loss for words. >> you could say that he comes across as a used car salesman, but that's not fair to used ca salesmen the guy is just, he's a scum bag. >> by the time doug carlisle was murdered, trudel had jus coincidence been on james'trai for a year, looking at possibl illegal drug imports and the mysterious disappearance o friend and employee case clark. he had to look like henrikso was acting like a latter day

outlaw >> he's a sociopath, the guy i a coward, he didn't get hi hands dirty in any of it >> trudel suspected henrikso may have ordered someone t kill casey clark then, doug carlisle wa murdered out in washington, an trudel began working wit detective burberry if timothy succo was the hitman, did he kill clark, too >> they checked mr suckow's number at the tim against the phone records they had acquired back when mr. clark disappeared and mr suckow's number was in those records. >> meaning suckow was in the area when casey clar disappeared. sarah, meanwhile, her marriage falling apart, had begun t harbor suspicions about james, and not just his cheating ways it went back to the day jame told her about doug carlisle's death. >> he walked into the room doug's dead, straight face nothing. it was the strangest thing ever >> did you think at the time i wonder if james had somethin to do with this?

>> you know, it seemed fishy t me it did, but again, your life i already crumbling, you don't want to think your husband could be doing anything like that >> what did you get out of tha marriage >> i was scared of him, yo know everyone wants the fairy tale, everyone wants to be married with a good life with kids, an it kind of came crashing quickly. >> finally, sarah starte talking about divorce. >> i told him, and he'd be like, how are you going to feel yo divorce me, and you find out all of this isn't true and the kid's not mine and you'll be the horrible person and i' going to destroy you he was very threatening. >> was he serious? a month after the murder o doug carlisle, january 2014, sarah got a call from her loca sheriff. >> he said you need to come to

my office right this second. >> coming up, sarah gets som frightening news >> homeland security was waiting for me, and they wer like, your husband is trying t have you killed today. >> what was that moment like for you? >> doesn't seem real it's like a movie. >> when "dateline" continues want your clothes to smell freshly washed all day without heavy perfumes? try downy light in-wash freshness boosters. it has long-lasting light scent, no heavy perfumes, and no dyes. finally, a light scent that lasts all day. downy light! nexgard is the flea and tick protection that's #1 with vets. your vet trusts it for her patients... ...and her own dog. plus, its delicious beef flavor is #1 with dogs. use with caution in dogs with a history of seizures or neurologic disorders. ask your vet about nexgard. sarah didn't know which way to

turn with investigators in tw states closing in, her husband james had vanished their marriage was on life support, and she had just been summoned by her county sheriff >> so i went into his office and homeland security wa waiting for me, and they wer like sit down, we need to talk to you and they said we just received in the last ten minutes that your husband is trying to have you killed today

>> sarah, on a hit list. but why? sarah had a pretty good idea >> they wanted all the money and he knew i had it locked up with the divorce getting ready so get her out of the way an we'll get the assets so they could run to brazil. >> but sarah, marked for death yes, the sheriff told her, she was supposed to die that ver day. >> what was that moment like for you? >> i can't even describe it. doesn't seem real. it's like a movie. i sat there and spoke with the all day. and i had asked can i call someone, like i don't know wha to do. they said, nope, we have t take you into a safe home. >> call no one >> hmm-mm.

>> not even your mom >> nope, no one. because they were afraid tha james could harass my family and friends to find my location, because once he realized i wasn't responding to him, he went into panic mode he didn't know if i was workin with the police, if i was dead if i was on the run. >> the cops knew her husband was lurking somewhere out there, but they couldn't find him >> he was harassing a lot of m friends and family, trying t see if they had heard from me, which they hadn't. >> they tried a ruse to thro james off the scent. >> they drove me to the border in canada to make it look like i had, like, jumped the border to see if james would chase me

>> he did not. but where was he no one seemed to know. was sarah close enough so they could actually see her investigators tried to track her husband's phone. >> you're sitting in homelan security's office and you're listening to them ping him across the state, and he's o the run, he's on the move. i think a car backfired in the parking lot, and all the agent pull their guns out and run to the windows because they don't know if james is in town it's a surreal thing >> even if they found him, the couldn't charge with murder or conspiracy, didn't have enough evidence of that but they did have somethin quite useful a few days earlier, search warrant in hand, state and federal agents, includin homeland security's derric trudel descends on james and sarah's empty house.

>> what did you find >> some financial records, som firearms >> some firearms >> yeah, i can't remember th exact number of them >> if there's one there, he's convicted felon right? >> grounds for immediate arrest >> agents fanned out aroun north dakota and in a few days later in a mill place called mandan, there he was >> what was he doing >> he was over at hi girlfriend's friend' apartment. >> the apartment of a friend o payton, the chief's daughter >> we had guys staked ou around it doing surveillance o it, and as we drove by, recognized him and that was him >> on the street >> walking on the street, yeah he hopped out, told him to tur around, show me his hands. >> he was surrounded by cops guns drawn and pointed, so wha happened then was very odd >> he had his hands in his pockets and so kept telling hi to show me his hands he wouldn't show me both hands at the same time, he's got a stupid smirk on his face >> he's playing with you >> eventually enough is enough we helped him to the ground,

put handcuffs on him he's smiling up at me, and asked me, you know, like, hey, how are you. he instantly went into, like trying to charm us >> trying to pull a con on the cop. >> i don't know if he though he was going to build rappor with me and a relationship and we were going to be buddies. >> bizarre, though the arres was james henrikson was at least in custody, and sarah, n choice, they told her, had t stay in deep cover herself hiding in a secret shelter unable to call friends or even her parents, just in case th hit was still a go >> i had a bunch of friend call the sheriff and the polic and they were asking, they said, we think that he's had her killed, will you drive aroun and look in ditches, because n one was allowed to know. they wanted him to think tha it had gone through to see wha he would do. >> i can't imagine what it would be like for your family. >> it was hard for them. >> and james agreed very civilized to talk to investigators. but what he did not do >> you guys are 100% sure that you can protect me >> was tell them the real stor of what he had been up to. >> it had to do with the carte and the m.a. that's it. you know what that is, right >> the mexican mafia and dru cartel >> he gave us a story. he talked about the cartels, the triad, all these organized

crime groups that he implied having connections to. >> i don't know. if i go through with it, i'm not that worried about it. you guys, you know, put all th charges that you want on me, and, like, you know if i don't say anything, i don't sa anything whatever, they kill me >> did he think you were buyin it >> in his mind he thought we were buying it it's so outlandish, nobody i going to believe that. >> trouble was, investigator in north dakota and spokan still didn't have enough solid evidence to tie james henrikso to the murders of k.c. clark and doug carlisle. for that they would have t keep digging while henrikson waited in jail

that is, if they could keep hi there while he had other ideas >> coming up, preparing for th great escape >> they knocked out that window, dropped some bed sheets down t the ground >> nine stories. >> oh, my god. >> when "dateline" continues thee? ...let me count the ways. ♪ love can get a little messy... good thing there's resolve. love the love. resolve the mess. ugh covid-19? and being overweight makes it more risky. i'm calling my doctor. if it's covid, paxlovid. authorized for emergency use, paxlovid is an oral treatment for people 12 and up... who have mild-to-moderate covid-19 and have a high-risk factor for it becoming severe. my symptoms are mild now, but i'm not waiting. if it's covid, paxlovid. having even one risk factor, like being over 50, diabetes, or smoking increases your chances of severe covid. taken within five days of symptoms, paxlovid reduced the risk of developing

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stranger perks homelan security agent had eve encountered, the man had a attitude, as trudel discovered he was an inept criminal rarely seemed to get his schemes to work. >> it's like a tragic comedy when you see the group o people involved with this case >> the time they put out a hit on another business partner bu the hitman runs off with the money. >> the guy rips them off for $10, 000, and as he said, it was the easiest $10,000 he eve made >> gradually agent trudel an

spokane detectives burbridge and sesnick amasse circumstantial evidence to sho henrikson for all of his criminal fumbling di orchestrate two murders, k.c clark and doug carlisle. it was not quite enoug circumstantial evidence to tak to trial, until finally, the break they needed. >> i didn't to do any of thi stuff. i don't know why i did it. >> timothy succo, remember him admitted he killed both victim on orders from james henrikson and the middleman caved too, robert deleo, the man who came snooping around th investigation a couple of days after the carlisle murder an passed a polygraph, which migh say something about polygraphs he admitted he recruited suckow, and transmitted henrikson' orders and the money >> how did tim get paid fo k.c., do you know? >> s it was cash >> so september 2014, nine months after his arrest on

weapons charges, james henrikson was flown from north dakota to spokane, washington, and charged with multipl federal counts of conspiracy solicitation, and murder for hire in the deaths of k.c. clark and doug carlisle, and attempts on the lives of three more business partners he was not charged, however, with trying to kill his wife sarah, because, said the prosecutors, they went with th charges that were easiest to prove. so henrikson was toast unless, as he sat in the spokane jai awaiting trial, henrikson di his best to see that the trial would never happen >> he tried to hire people t attack the marshal van that wa transporting him between our jail and the u.s courtroom, shoot the driver, set fire to the van and brea him out the back of it while the van's on fired

>> good lord >> he was letting on that he had a lot of money, and in jail, obviously it doesn't take to long to find people that wil bite on that unfortunately he found one tha also needed help with hi current charges so he turned him in pretty quickly. >> thus the plan was foiled. >> yes >> but henrikson wasn't done >> he was in a cell with another person suspected o murder our spokane county jail, there are windows in each of the cells, they knocked out that window, dropped some tie together bed sheets down to th ground >> nine stories. >> oh, my god. >> some people showing up fo work at the jail saw the rop hanging out the window

>> can you see anybody squeezing through a window tha size >> they're purposely designe so an adult human head can't fit out that window. there's no way they could ge out the window >> they could have charged him for escape attempts, the didn't the prosecutor had bigge things to do, and finally, i january 2016, james henrikso encountered them >> i was so mad i couldn't see straight >> doug carlisle's still grieving family. >> i had to close my eye several times and say a prayer god, cut me down i wanted to put my hands on hi for sure >> then you'd be in trouble. >> it would be worth it. >> federal prosecutors scott jones were, however, not exactly confident about thei case >> proving k.c clark's murder was the toughes

part that i was thinking of. we didn't have a body. we had no forensic evidence. >> so to get a conviction, the would need these two sketchy characters who allegedly o orders from henrikson had done some truly awful things. if they didn't tell the stor and make the jury believe it henrikson would get away wit murder, but if they did tell it, what sort of credibility wit would a person like that have? >> my concern is our mos important witness is going t admit that he killed two people, literally beat k.c clark's brains out >> how do you handle that? >> you have to embrace it. our number two witness had a tattoo on his back of hi urinating on the headstone o the last guy he killed these are our two star witnesses. >> still, tim suckow was by fa the most important witness could tell the jury chapter an verse about the many twisted and homicidal plots set in motion by james henrikson. two nights before the trial wa to begin, attorneys jones an amed went to see suckow,

prepare him for his testimony, and that's where it all went south. suckow is bipolar. >> he was laying down on the floor of the prison cell in th fetal position, and so this is two days before our star witness is going to testify, and he's basically sucking his thumb on the floor of a jail cell i mean, we're there at 10:00 a night, trying to make sure tha this guy gets his medication s he could effectively testify before a jury. >> would james henrikson, th desparado of the oil patch g free >> the entire courtroo stunned. >> i decided james henrikson was crazy. i didn't know he was tha crazy. >> when "dateline" continues ♪♪ get $1500 purchase allowance on a 2023 cadillac xt5 and xt6. ♪♪ visit your local cadillac dealer today. it was no easy task, preparing

tim suckow to testify at the trial of the man accused o paying him to kill two people. he was off his meds, he was mess emotionally so when the trial began in federal court, no camera allowed, the prosecutors hel their breath and suckow, back on his meds came through, and in court, he repeated just what he said her in his pretrial interviews that he met deleo when the

both worked for the compan that owned the white van h drove the night he shot doug carlisle a year before that job, he says, deleo told him he could make money for roughing up some guy in north dakota, but then th boss, that is james henrikso changed the plan >> he started telling me about k.c., how he was threatening t leave the company, take some o the truckers with him. and that's when he asked me if i'd kill him >> so when k.c showed up at james'offic before going on vacation suckow was behind the door wit a heavy truck jack >> and i hit him in the back o the head, and he stumbled an fell he tried to get up and i hit him about or four more times he stopped moving. >> they ditched k.c.'s truck i a nearby town says suckow, and they took k.c.'s body to a

lonely spot 20 miles out o town suckow said he did the digging while henrikson stood nearby >> i remember standing in th hole, and he said somethin like how much is this going to cost me, and i said, $20,000 and he choked. 20,000 it's first-degree murder, man, it's the death penalty and i turned back around, took a couple more shovel loads and turned back at him, and said don't shoot me in the back o the head while i'm digging thi hole he really should have. >> anyway, he said, he got the 20 grand, and he burned th bloody clothes investigators found buttons an other evidence of that bur pile

though they took suckow out to the prairie twice to look fo the burial site, they neve found k.c. clark's body >> k.c clarke was simply killed for the reason that he just wanted to leave james henrikson's appointment. >> so i'm going to kill him. >> it was like a jealous cheating spouse kind of thing. >> and why according to th prosecutors did james henrikso want doug carlisle killed? >> he really thought that th oil deal they were involve with was worth tens of million of dollars, and he thought tha doug carlisle was standing i the way of him getting most, a large share of those tens of millions of dollars.

>> mr. carlisle had already threatene mr henrikson that he was going to get him out of the oil drillin business >> and that was the thing that triggered this whole bids. >> yeah, they were each trying to get each other out of the deal >> at the trial, prosecutors introduced hundreds of tex message, an almost play by pla account as the plan rolled out >> you can watch a text messag go from henrikson to deleo, an the content is passed to sucko and back other way negotiations over payment, who's going to be there, doe he have an alarm system. >> so when doug carlisle returned from church tha evening in december, suckow wa waiting, he brought a heav welding glove in case he had t punch in a window. he didn't have to.

>> and i told him to back up and get in the house and i saw mrs. carlisle come into sight fro the hallway. she backed away. and mr carlisle moved his hand, and i panicked i fired, and it seemed like th fourth shot, and he didn't move i ran fast >> and then, somehow the welding glove got left behind, the glove that reveale suckow's dna, and broke th case >> without the glove, we would probably be unsolved to this day. >> and what could have happene then

james henrikson according to prosecutors was a very dangerous man, was activel planning more murders. eventually, they said, had suckow not lost his weldin glove, henrikson might hav become that worst of all criminals. >> a serial killer is someon who causes the death or murder of three people, and h certainly got an a for effor because he tried there are about eleven peopl that we know of that he trie to have murdered >> james henrikson's defense attorneys declined our request for an interview, but they blamed the murders on suckow and deleo, not henrikson, an essentially argued the jur should not believe two suc unsavory killers elberta carlisle watched the trial play out day after day same prayer on her lips.

>> i prayed for justice for my husband. i prayed that the truth woul come forth and that there woul be a way to go on in life. >> deliberations took less tha a day. on all eleven counts, murder for hire, solicitation conspiracy, and more, the jury found james henrikson guilty >> we wanted to jump up an down and clap, you know, as family because our whole famil was there. it was great >> in the weeks that followed, robert deleo the go-between wa sentenced to 22 years in prison when timothy suckow, the hitman, faced the judge. >> the only thing that he ever asked for was that we do wha we can to ensure that he was sent to a prison wit appropriate mental healt facilities so he could figur

out what was wrong with him. >> then in court, he turne around and faced elberta >> he said please forgive me i'm so sorry for what i have done >> did he seem genuine >> he did. he said it in tears, and h said i can't forgive myself, but can you forgive me, and told him yes i said god forgives you and forgive you. >> 30 years for tim suckow when it was james henrikson' turn, a ripple ran through the court, would he ask forgiveness, admit guilty, apologize, revea the location of k.c. clarke's body, no, not a chance >> he read a short story tha was very graphic about abortion so much so that everybody in the courtroom was very uncomfortable with what he was saying, and i think he just di that purposely upset people.

>> i had decided long before then that james henrikson wa crazy. i didn't know he was that kind of crazy >> henrikson will leave prison only in a box having receive two consecutive life sentences he's chosen not to appeal. and here in the vast north dakota grasslands, k.c clarke's friends and family ar still searching, vowing to sta with it until they find him. >> you just want to, all right james, you son of a bitch, we're going to get him ourselves. we're going to bring him hom and finally get closure fo everybody here >> and elberta >> sometimes grief overwhelm me, i'm just in a pile of tears, and i have not lived alone ever >> takes some figuring out >> it takes some figuring out. >> sarah, thoroughly investigated was held blameless, not involved in james'violen conspiracies, though in th community, and among some in law enforcement, suspicion lingers. in june 2017, she pleade guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud sarah was sentenced to three years of probation, and ordere to pay over $340,000 i restitution. >> so as you look at all o these events and you think gosh, what sin did i commit to during this spot, what would you say? >> i trusted a con artist. i trusted a sociopath. since i married the monster, some people think i should b one too. but i'm not. >> wreckage, lots of it, onc upon a time, in a flat and gracious land where tough me wrestle for oil, murderous ambition bubbled up with the crude, and made a play as ol as human kind. stunnin this sunday, a stunning à collapse the second largest bank failure in u.s. history rattles the tech