crimes for cher's sister judy, ther are only good memories and appreciation for the big siste who followed her adventurous spirit all the way to paradise >> you're not bitter that sh never went to panama, to bocas del toro >> i'm happy that she went because i know that she woul it meant to her. the piece in her heart of bein able to live there i wouldn't have wanted her t miss that. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline", i'm natalie morales, thanks for watching huge smile it's a child's worst nightmare to lose a mom.

>> every day i wanted answers, every day i was told it was an unknown. people don't just die! >> she was a loving mother he was a crime fightin prosecutor >> you are a pillar of tha community. >> i did what i thought wa right. >> then one day, the law was a his door his wife was dead in bed >> her eyes were open, she was pale >> i just remember crying, and not believing it >> suddenly suspicious but no evidence of a crime >> any signs of a struggle >> no. it was case closed >> years passed new lives. two new wives. >> he's extremely charming >> we just had the most amazin time >> then, a new detective dusts off the old case >> what's trumped out at you >> most definitely the arm where in a race position >> my first thought was -- >> the manner of death would b

-- >> what's really happened in that bedroom >> i'm - >> a young mother's death was mystery, but was in the murder >> tell me what happened to he to my face do not give me excuses ♪ ♪ ♪ >> it runs through the heart o america. along, meandering lifeline feeding industry, towns, and imaginations the mississippi river gave u tom sawyer and huckleberry then mark twain grew up in hannibal missouri missouri and just across the weather in quincy, illinois, lived anothe illinois lived another larger than life character, curtis lovelace, a small town larger than life character the judge curtis lovelace is this small time kid who wanted to be a star and for a while he was, full-time champion for the university of --

>> he's an all american? >> yes >> this is what all kids dream about. he was living that life. >> it was looking like he woul go to the nfl, that was kind o a dream of his >> then he realized grande ambitions. finding crime as a prosecutor, serving his country in the national guard and his community and politics >> i want to do some meaningfu work that is going to do make difference in the lives of people >> but what happened in this little house in quincy to one person in particular. that made curtis really stan out from all the world to see. >> we're doing continuin coverage in the curtis lovelac murder case. >> right now, the defense is presenting its closing arguments in the case. >> big dreams on inviting rive can carry you far. or they can drag you under this is the very strange journey of curtis lovelace all american, to crimina defendant.

let's roll back the years to high school, and to the woma who would become the focus o so much speculation. cory didrikson >> we went to high schoo together, we didn't run in the same crowd we had some mutual friends and we did not date in high school >> back then curtis was more focused on football than dating it wasn't until he went off to the university of illinois roughly two miles away, an became a star athletes, that h truly noticed the girl fro back home for the first time it was during a college break. the former classmates brough into each other in quincy an became an item cory wasted no time spreadin the good news. >> i'll never forget the day and that was telling tenni with a friend of mine. and cory was there, and that's when she told us that cory was it >> she went to high school wit him. >> surprised >> not really. they seemed a great fi together and she was very, very muc smitten.

man i'm going to >> it wasnr cory was telling her mothe marty that she had found the one. >> she comes home and we are sitting there. and she says, i met the man i' going to marry whoa >> back up >> and she kept her promise. in 1991, just after college, cory and curtis married. he studied law, she's worked a small job to support them both after graduation, they decided to buy a home in quincy. >> they wanted to be in th neighborhood, and they wante to be caused by. it just made it all the better so we found the house, and the moved back >> virtually over the fence? >> two houses up in one over >> curtis's ambitions drove th young couple he became a prosecutor in th state attorney's office an dabbled in school boar politics winning a seat, and starting a president. he also took a business la class at quincy university in between the professiona

milestones, they started the family first, a girl, lindsey and three boys cory juggles that part of thei life >> how is cory as a mother >> fantastic she was a great mom. there was nothing that she didn't do it for those kids. >> cory's days were filled wit diapers, platelets, an tantrums but even then, this great mo never forgot how to be a goo daughter in early 2006, her dad john wa dying of cancer. >> that was a major event fo all of you >> that was a major event. >> john's the klein? >> well, for years he had it and the last six months of his life she came every night at 5:00 and sat for an africa hour and visited that was her time with him >> born down from the stress o caregiving, raising four kids. it wasn't any wonder when cory herself fell ill it was the weekend befor valentine's day, 2006. >> she was feeling poorly. >> feeling poorly how? what was she ailing from

>> just flu like symptoms. throwing up. we thought she had the flu >> but on monday, the nigh before valentine's day, cory still managed to get the kid valentine's day cards ready fo school the next day. her daughter, then 12, remembers currying up with their mom watching the winte olympics in the snowboarde sean white >> i remember watching her wit him like mom he so cute! as a 12-year-old that wa awesome. >> but she was not bedridden a any point that night was she >> no, she was just feelin sick and even for my mom that was not common because even if she was sick, she did what she thought was expected as her an she cared about what she did like laundrie. because that was her role. >> when one and -- he said he courage her to take it easy. >> i said i would cancel m morning class at quinc university in order to get the kids to school >> so that is gonna be on deck it's gonna be dads time to get everybody up and running here? >> right

so i canceled my class and hel the kids get ready for school. she did come downstairs to hel out with that. >> he says chloe was so ill he had to help her back to be before driving the three eldes kids back to school. backpacks stuck with valentine's day cards. within minutes he was back only the home, still clouded with clothes and toys, was now filled with something else silence. quite enough to break a family 's heart >> coming up what happened in that house? >> as i got closer, immediately knew that somethin was really really wrong. >> so wrong it would tear apar a family and puzzle police for years to come >> every detectives needs to keep in mind that there coul be a bigger picture. >> when dateline continues lester holt: so wrong it would tear apart a family and puzzle police for years to come.

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on your wireless bill over t-mobile, at&t and verizon. the routine of the house was i to learn more, visit your local xfinity store today. dennis murphy: the routine of the house was in a tizzy. with corey sick in bed, it had been up to curtis to get the three oldest kids off to school. a tizzy, with cory second bet, it had been up to curtis to ge the three's kids off to school now, he was back >> when i arrived home everything was quiet i assumed that cory wa sleeping, resting. she hadn't slept most th night. i'm just going to leave he alone and put her to sleep before looking in on her, he said, he went over his email in the kitchen then, he headed upstairs >> i needed to take a shower as i walked up the steps, looked the left. the door to her bedroom was as elected, opened. i could see her lying in bed i could see something from the distance

didn't seem right. so, i approached her >> what made you say that, looking back >> i'm really not sure as i got closer, i could see that she was pale. she was motionless and i immediately knew tha something was really, really wrong. >> did you think she was dead? >> i shook her i called out her name. at that point, i knew that she was dead >> in that moment, he said, hi thoughts turn to his fou -year-old bar -- boy who is still in the house. >> i needed to get larson ou of the house >> what did you do i grabbed larson i believe he was in bed. i took him immediately over to his grandparents house >> cory's mom, marty, answered the door

she remembers her son-in-law standing there with a young bo and saying something nonsensical about her daughter being dead >> it was mid morning. >> there >> there he's i opened the door. he has me larson he says, something about peopl are coming or something i often regretted not just put larson down and running over there. >> stop. she called her son, -- that is dental practice. >> i got a phone call for my mom. just out of the blue i don't think anything of. it >> couldn't be. >> she's 30 years old. there's no way i just saw her couples go. >> jay berry, a detective with the one seed please department headed the investigation when he arrived at the scene he went straight upstairs. he was in the bedroom on the corner examined cory's body. >> he tested her bod temperature by placing his han against her abdomen. i followed suit. >> was her body warmer cold? >> her abdomen was one to th

touch. >> what does that tell the corner >> he knew that the time o death was narrowed for the bod to still be warm it seemed clear that cory' death had been recent. within the last hour or so not all certain why, or how th woman was dead the detective could not rule out any possibility, including foul play. >> what about the rim itself any overturned glasses or sign of struggle? >> no. >> so you're telling me, you'r seeing a woman has apparentl died in her bed. and not that long before authorities arrive >> that is right >> if i can stress there was not a single mark on her, othe than would seem to be a skin blemish under her nose, not mark >> and yet there was something

about the position of cory's body did did strike him as odd he thought death and gravity would've caused her arms t drop instead, they were both fixe in mid air, hovering above her chest. >> i was looking at an explanation for that and i even address it to curtis lovelace. i even suggested that he may have been under her arms whe he discovered her. >> and what did he say >> no. >> he said the scene that yo are seeing was exactly how h had seen it when he had come in >> yes >> but the detective was careful not to get hung up o one strange detail not this early in the case >> every detective needs t keep in place that there could be a bigger picture. >> and oh yes there was! a picture of a woman, portrait of a marriage, filled with details painted in th most unflattering light. >> coming up a peek behind closed doors >> you are drinking too much >> i drank too much. >> cory was drinking too much?

>> cory was drinking too much. >> and the daughter warns he mom. >> i just remember crying, and not believing him. >> when dateline continues (announcer) you can quit. for free help, call 1-800-quit-now sometimes, the lows of bipolar depression feel darkest before dawn. with caplyta, there's a chance to let in the lyte. caplyta is proven to deliver significant relief across bipolar depression. unlike some medicines that only treat bipolar i, caplyta treats both bipolar i and ii depression. and in clinical trials, movement disorders and weight gain were not common. call your doctor about sudden mood changes, behaviors, or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants may increase these risks in young adults. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. report fever, confusion, stiff or uncontrollable muscle movements which may be life threatening or permanent. these aren't all the serious side effects. caplyta can help you let in the lyte. ask your doctor about caplyta. find savings and support at caplyta.com.

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ask your doctor about caplyta. here we go! ♪ ♪ the quincy illinois detectives dennis murphy: the quincy, illinois detective was trying to understand why a 38 year was trying to understand why a 38 year old woman had died suddenly as he looks for clues inside cory lovelace's home, filled with a color of young family life jeff noticed one item in particular, a white cup by her bedside. >> i collected an unknow liquid, that smelled fairly of alcohol from a styrofoam cup >> -

>> did he tell you that sh liked to have a vodka tonic? >> yes >> and that was likely what wa in the cup >> yes >> a big 24 ounce cup? >> yes >> alcohol had been a part o the life - >> there was alcoholism in our family, so there was the likel side of that >> you are drinking too much >> looking back? yes i drink too much >> cory was drinking too much >> kaori was drinking too much it was impacting her ability t take care of things at home. >> he also told the detectiv that cory had been takin false. sometimes out of bed what's more, the detective had found out that cory had been battling bulimia the picture emerging, corey ha not been a healthy woman >> i know they are listening t the words that the subject i telling you. and you're also looking at them why is he telling me this?

how is the freezing? it >> it's very important. and i found a man who is answering my questions very cooperative solemn upset. >> curtis also retrace the family triceps that morning. >> he saw his wife around 8:15 took the kids to school, h returned found her deceased. >> with that, the detectiv finish the interview and laughed. but curtis knew his awful da was about to get worse not least, he had four childre ranging in ages from 4 to 12 t look after >> how do you tell the children? >> that was, i think to this day that is th most pivotal thing i've ever had to do. i'll call the schools and le them know that i would be on m way. >> lindsey, the only girl, was the eldest of the lovelace kids >> i remember being at school, i remember getting the cal

from the office that i was getting picked up. and in my mind i thought, mayb my mom was in the hospital she didn't feel good maybe she just had to go to th hospital, it is fine >> but once inside the principles office, her fathe broke the news >> and he told me that my mo had died to school.and i just remember fe on, my world is crashing down. >> did he say what had happened, what is going on >> i'm sure i asked what i happened i just remember crying and not believing it so we went, we left. and we went to my grandma' house. and i was like, i want to go back to school and i went back to school. >> and you did on the day yo lost your mom? >> because that was a normal for me it was a normalcy thing. >> and in hindsight, maybe the best thing she could've done

her favorite teacher had something for her. >> she actually had wolf - she had a cat friend who was carried for wolf pups. i'm sure they had just los their mom, they were orphaned. >> what a jumble of things t go through >> and that was the most comforting thing i could'v done, was hold those walls >> by then, news of core lovelace's untimely death wa lure pulling across town students - where the first outside of family and authorities t suspect something was happened >> his class was all out of hi costume, waiting for him t come >> one of his students was surprised to learn that hi class had been canceled. she was surprised to know why. >> everyone was in shock because she was in very youn 38 year old. she seemed healthy from what everyone understood. so it was a huge shock >> so that said that you professors wife is that. >> you didn't know her >> i didn't know her and i did

know him at that time either >> soon, everyone in town wa wondering what had caused he death. the pathologist who performe the autopsy a day later, noted some trauma. a small abrasion on her uppe lip, and another mark inside that appear to be cut. curtis mention that cory had fallen in the days before he death. >> those false could'v captured that injury to her lip? presumably >> i wish i knew but yes. a fall can account for a injury >> the pathologist also notice that cory had a fatty liver. also caused by heavy drinking. still, the doctor ruled th death undetermined >> she did noah killed her a this point >> that was what's was frustrating. she did find a disease of th litter, which can be associate with sudden death. >> unusual for women to die of unknown causes, but it doe happen without more to go on, the detective close the case cory's mother, marty, still in shock. could not bring herself to rea

the autopsy report >> cory was drinking, we do no deny that. she was billy mick, and i di try to talk to curtis abou that at one time told him it was all okay, it was going to be fine >> now, as she mourned cory, marty knew that her sufferin would only deepen. her husband jon, was dying her husband jon, was dying corey, and jon sat next to m that was a choice curtis says the entire family made and was like, he was sayin goodbye to friends to. he didn't come home from the hospital after that. >> so both those losses, one right on top of the other. >> yes >> within the span of the month, marty lost a daughter and husband. she purchased two burial plots at the local cemetery. even though cory's remains wer

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a major storm system plowing through the south on the midwest has killed at least 30 people 13 have died in tennessee wher a tornado has destroyed th links foundation indiana, illinois, and arkansas, are among the other affected states in new york, a man has bee arrested on murder charges i connection with the suspecte gay bar drugging spree police charge jacob receive th death of one man and the poisoning of another two other suspects remain at large. now, back to dateline. for so many years, he had been he'd been the guy in town people looked up to and admired. curtis lovelace-- football star, school board president, the guy in town people looke up to and admired. curtis lovelace football star, school board president suddenly a widower who neede help >> it was overwhelming, people did come forward friends and family, helping th kids to get to school in the

mornings, so i could go to work and picking them up from school >> it's a lot! >> it's a lot but we cam together as a family and did what we need to do >> the longtime friend, beth curtis was stoic in the week after cory's death but one time, she noticed th mass of just a little. it was at a high school reunio later that center. >> they were doing a video montage and cory's picture turned up. he looked and he said hey, that's my wife and it was just times like that, that made me really think, grieving husband >> that's why a few months later, she and other friends were surprised to hear tha curtis had met someone new that was fast! >> she was different the anyone i had ever dated before maybe in some ways tha difference intrigued me. >> she, was erica. as in the former student who showed up to professor lov

laces canceled class tha fateful valentine's da morning. >> he was extremely charming anything that i needed o wanted he could take care of and he did >> at the time this intervie took place, erica asked us t alter her appearance to protec her privacy. she began her story by recounting that she is a 3 year old single mom, had dumpe into a 37 year old professor not long after cory's death. official after water, sh thought. >> i felt bad and i gave him m number, and i told him tha there are places that he could go in town that there ar people more his age. because i thought he was a lot a lot order than he was. just seemed -- >> he just seemed a little old >> kind of dead. >> but not long after, pit blossomed into friendship an then love. they started dating about si

months after cory's death. erica, and her daughter from a previous relationship, eventually moved in with curti and his four children. >> it was nice that we wer attacked in there with the res of them. all of us just found the place >> that's not the way curtis's daughter lyndsay site. >> what did you think abou america? >> we did not get along. >> from the get-go >> from the get-go >> she arrived as a girlfriend and that's just how it was did i just think it was to quickly? yes. but adults make their ow decisions. >> in fact, she was so unhealthy with her dad's girlfriend, he picked up and moved with her grandmother two doors down -- she admired how he coached local kids in sports and devoted spare time to hi community. eventually, they both served together in the national guard >> you have an outstanding resume >> yeah.

>> this is an all american boy >> i love the fact that he was on the school board, that wa where my profession wa leading. and i love that he worked with children he was great he seemed to be good with th children >> they even bought a new plac and time together, and mov from the place cory had died there was -- but eventually, erica said she found a change in her husband. >> he detach once in a while and i was kind of left all t myself, and he would just hide in the basement and -- >> she says their mutual silence separated them then, resentment exploded in loud confrontations. it just wasn't working >> i believe looking back, i was a rebound relationship and, a relationship that i should have not done not onl for me, but also for m children >> in 2013, after five years o marriage, curtis filed for divorce. now you think he would've been

shy about jumping into lov again. but not curtis >> it was just surreal and lovely >> this is christine she had known curtis since hig school even took her to the homecomin dance. marriage and career separate them for a time. >> it was odd because i wasn't prepared for any kind of relationship and i wasn't looking for anything like that >> where were you in your life christine? were you single? >> i was i was single >> after reconnected o facebook, the former class folks decided to catch a fac to face for the first time i decades. >> and there he is at the door who do you see

>> i see curtis lovelace my senior homecoming dat standing there and then we spent that evening with friends and before we knew it, everyon else had gone. and we just had the most amazing time >> i was meeting in many ways, the same person who i took t homecoming, just more beautiful, more interesting and more kind than i had eve remembered >> it just worked! >> more than six months later, on the day after christmas 2013 kurt's was once again standing at the altar only this time, the new mrs. lovelace seem to have approval from everyone. even 20 year old daughte lindsey, who packed up at th arrival of the last girlfriend >> i like that he cared a lo about the boys >> do you think maybe this could be the restoration of th family >> yeah, i did >> after the nightmare you see a erica, here's christine. and she certainly making a

effort to reach out to you >> yeah, and i felt like m family deserve to happines that point after everything we had been through. so i was hoping that it woul all pan out all k. >> and it did go okay. christine kept all of th lovely's is running like a swift schedule kids off to school, whil curtis lurked at his law practice it downtown and she had a bakery >> i opened a pie shop, and was making - a week and i was selling out of highs before 9:00 in the morning >> so this was not just anothe hobby to keep you busy this was a growing business. >> what's your go-to pie >> i love blueberry. but i make mean gooseberry you name it, i can probably do it >> after years of turmoil, i seemed the love laces were reborn lindsay was back in the family fault. christine had even adopted curtis's sons as her own everything was working but darker souls wait for th train rack, just when things are looking all hunky dory turns out, that train wa hurdling down the track at

them >> coming up a new detective leads to new suspicions >> what jumped out of you? >> most definitely, the arms were in an unnaturally raise position >> and the start of a ne investigation. and allergy relief! two pills relieve allergy headache pain? and the congestion that causes it! flonase headache and allergy relief. psst! psst! all good! hate it when a car freshener hits you with an overwhelming blast of perfume? febreze car vent clips work differently. febreze gives you consistent freshness that starts just right and stays just right for 40 days. upgrade to febreze car. , the river road

dennis murphy: the river rolled. and stays just right for 40 days. the barges slid by, and cory lovelace's death the barges led by. and cory lovelace's deat flipped further into the past. her mom already. >> i just think about if she suffered and valentine's day now is nothing.

i don't do valentine's day >> cory's husband meanwhile ha divorced, married, and married again. after that, no questions are how are or why and cory' death. but all that changed one day when a man in a windowless roo off the mississippi found some time with time on his hands. >> i was sitting in my offic in front of the computer >> it was late 2013, almos eight years after cory's death adam gibson, a new detective with the police department started pulling up old files >> not looking for anything in particular, just reading old cases. cory's case popped and i had not read the report. >> did anything stand out to you? >> i mean, i knew curtis loveless because he had been one of our states attorneys. there wasn't much to read in the file >> truth be told, a statemen

from the husband interviews with the thre children, and the pathologis summary of the autopsy finding with some photos >> so you know what ha happened in 2006 sort of? >> yeah. that she had passed away o battle and titans day 2006 >> what was the medica examinations finding >> it was identical to the original autopsy >> where did that mean when yo encounter that before? >> and determine can mean a lo of things. but in this autopsy, there wer things listed as suspicious fo traumatic findings >> for one, the abrasion uncor face just under her nose something they arriving office had observed that day. the pathologist also noted the cut, which she noted as laceration on the inside o course upper lip the detective kept strolling then saw something that stoppe him cold an electrifying image! the police photos of the dea wife and mother, as she laid i her bed.

>> what jumped out of you? >> most likely that her arms were in a naturally henry' position >> in a weird way? >> her hands defied gravity. >> just weird? >> yes >> out there like a statue >> yes >> we created this graphic representation of corey's be room you can see her arms frozen an death above her body that final police had caught detective baird's attention th years before a corrosive-y but he didn' assign any significance. now, adam gives him dead >> rig mortise >> yes in my opinion. >> the mechanics of rigor more disco like this. upon death, the muscles star to stephen but to the detective, it looks as though cory's arms and hand were in an advanced stage of rigor. meaning, she likely died man hours before this photo wa taken. remember, curtis said that h touched his wife in the be only an hour before finding he dead it did not make sense to the

officer. detective told his bosses abou the old lace file. >> my assumption is that w missed something here. >> he had been in charge i 2006 when everyone assumed everywhere - cory died unnatural death. but he said he never saw thi photos that the detective wa holding before him >> that's when i saw the pictures for the first time. >> what did you think? >> i thought this is odd this is not natural. >> the posture of the? arms >> the posture of the arm definitely appeared to me that rigor mortars had said in. i looked at those pictures and i can't believe that w accepted an undetermined cause of death, and a natural death. >> detective gibson agreed but they had a problem >> very thin, what you'r working with is some notes fro a medical examiner from eigh years before, and a few photos very few >> and two sides were taken by the pathologis and passed on in evidence. so yeah, very thin file. >> so police went down to th doctor that when the autopsy and asked her to review th

case she did, but she would not alter her original findings. the next step would've been to order a new autopsy, but tha was impossible since corey's family had her remains cremated the only option was to wor with what they had detective gibson had a suggestion >> he wanted to have the autopsy reviewed by somebody else have basically a review of the original autopsy done. do a new autopsy, because th body had been cremated >> so the chief oked their quest to have a new doctor review the old notes the detective also had something else to mind to beef up the case. talking to anyone anyone who known cory the first call was to the mom, marty. he told her he wanted to meet, but not why. >> he said, are you there fo the time - i said scratch what i'm doin this afternoon, you should jus come now because that was so nervou

about what it was. >> everything old is about t be new again new, and very unsettling >> coming up >> the thing that is struck me first was the position of mrs. lovelace's arms. >> a difficult man - examiner reaches a different conclusion >> the manner of death would b homicide >> and the detective has a question for crevices daughter >> tuesday morning, before you went to school, what do yo remember >> would you think was happening? >> i didn't know >> when dateline continues h dogs. use with caution in dogs with a history of seizures or neurologic disorders. ask your vet about nexgard. is a new title really necessary? sir, after bestowing the gift of renting ease to millions, a bump is in order. okay, let's see. oh, hey... what's this? lord of the lease! i'm not a hat-person. yeah, no. emperor of the rentalverse. that's funny. no.

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and because dexcom g7 is the most accurate cgm, you can make better decisions about food, medication, and activity in the moment. after using the dexcom g7, my a1c has never been lower. i lead line dancing three times a week, and i'm just living a great life now. (donna) it's so easy to use. dexcom g7 has given me confidence and control, everything i need is right there on my phone. (female announcer) dexcom is the number one recommended cgm brand. call now to get started on dexcom g7. cory love laces mom had trie dennis murphy: cory lovelace's mom had tried hard to move on after her daughter's sudden death in 2006, but after a phone call and a visit from detective adam gibson in early 2014, hard to move on after he sudden death in 2006 but after a phone call and visit from as -- she started to wonder. >> a lot of things i have to weigh. really shoved away and one of them was really why cory had died. >> did you ever suspect ther

was foul play in her death >> now >> friends of both curtis an curry also started to get call from the detective -- remembers his message asking her to call asap >> so when i called detectiv gibson and they said wer reopening the case of core lovelace i was shocked! >> so the detective wa interested in what you could tell him about the marriage >> yes! which >> she admitted wasn't much beth and other close friends that cory didn't really talk about her marriage so the detective did something that others hadn't done on thi case he started knocking on doors talking to the forme neighbors. >> all the former neighbor talking about all the constant arguing and fighting >> so you are getting a pictur of what was really going o that wasn't in focus in 2006 >> right the >> detective went of ste for their, he got in this ca and drove more than 100 mile to the university of - to talk to someone who would b in on this >> hi i'm a detective.

>> nice to meet you! >> i'm investigating your mom' case >> - to talk with detective qassem. >> i was very confused about why someone from quincy wa there. >> the detective didn't clings things up, at least no efforts. he started talking about her late mom, and asking about the parents marriage >> how is your parents relationship do you remember? >> they would fight. it was an an interesting relationship there was time that we were th perfect family, and it would b fine and there were times that ther were my parents fighting >> for the first time, something inside the family wa revealing the turmoil before cory's death but then the detective asked lindsey to describe the day in 2006 when her mother's body wa found. >> in tuesday morning before you were found and went to school, do you remember? school, do you remember? >> this was the theory of th case

>> she was up and walkin around she had made breakfast i don't remember which he ha told us. but she was helping us get ready for school because we al had our little valentine's day boxes. >> the young woman, candid about her marriage was supportive of the account. korea died minutes as she ha seen her kids off to school. not minutes earlier. if he had been disappointed in her answer, he wouldn't show it but he had another questio that did catch her off-guard >> would you be shocked to see your dad all i ask is that you no discuss what was going on an what i asked you today >> i don't know. and especially when he sai don't tell your father was here >> so what does that mean? >> i went back to where i wa living, and sat there an thought what it was going on and slowly hit me.

>> she realized the detective, for whatever reason, suspected that her father had somethin to do with her mother's sudden death. even so, she kept her promis and did not tell her fathe about the visit. in the meantime, detective gibson was waiting to hear fro dr. jane turner. the existing medical detective for the -- he was eager on the autops report >> the thing that struck m first, just looking at the first, just looking at the scene photographs was th position of mrs. loveless' arms >> she says the photo show cory's body in full rigo mortise. like the detective, the emmy believed that the curtis a story and the actual picture out of segue

>> i think the time of death i somewhere between 10 to 12 hours prior to the photograp being taken that morning so, somewhere between nine o ten or 11 pm the night before. >> in other words, the night o february 13th, not the morning of february 14th as curtis claimed. and something else odd, it was altered as if something unde her arms were removed. >> why were her hands no resting on the surface and that surface, whatever tha object was that her hands have been resting on, why wasn't it there anymore? >> turner noticed the embrac jim on her face, and the cut o her sudden lit to her, it suggests that something had been pressed against the woman's mouth. >> and then seeing that th marks around her mouth, an inside the mouth all suggest that suffocation occurred. >> suffocation an abrasion, an unaccepted timeline that no longer fit.

turner was convinced cory ha not died a natural death she concluded someone had used an option, likely a pillow, to suffrage the woman left it under her arms, an remove it many hours later remove it many hours later >> the manner of death b homicide >> for the detective, core love lisa's death came down to two competing methods from two compelling - one relied on science to explain the murder, the othe relied on -- to describe an ailing mother just before she passed away. in the end, the detectiv believe the science. he believed that the time ha been committed but now he had and littl problem back at the quincy police department. two people had conducted ver different investigations of th same case. >> detective gifts and you believe this was a homicide.

>> yes i did believe that >> absorber did you believe this was the death o natural causes are you divided on tha fundamental issue? >> i am now uncertain. from what i have heard, an been told under the ne investigation. much more uncertain than i was in 2006. >> there, boss still backs bot men. he says if there is blame to b had in this case, he will take it it mistakes are made. and i really kind of had a notion that he was goin>>to bring y. i would like to say that i tak full responsibility. i was chief in 2000 and sex. i have detectives and thei supervisors working on thi case >> did he get a pass because h was a pillar of the community? he was a big shot guy? >> i don't know if you got a pass i think he may have got th benefit of the doubt >> but on a warm oregon' morning, that benefit woul

evaporate along with the peaceful feelings of a laz summer day christine lovelace had been friend up in her new shop, baking pies all morning. curtis was meant to stop b with lunch >> i just knew that he was gonna be there and i kind of had the notion that he was going to bring m -- >> the only thing he said wa my wife died in 2006 >> what did you think of that? >> it was not the reaction i was expecting at all >> then again, curtis lovelace never saw it coming. >> he told me to put my hand behind my back, and put me i handcuffs. >> what was going on >> i did not know. i remember hearing, murder i remember hearing him use the word wife. i was not aware that there was an investigation >> you are totally blindsided! >> totally blindsided! >> blindsided because no one had really questioned cory's death before even the police concluded sh died of natural causes back at the pie sharp, a increasingly anxious christine got a phone call it was someone from a local tv station. >> he said, i'm holding a piec of paper in my hand. it's an indictment for the first degree murder of corey lovelace i immediately said what's? cory was not murdered.

>> give me your word, that day in your life zero >> horrifying >> i was placed in a interrogation mood immediately >> curtis was place was an interesting decision to make either talk with the detective and clear this up then there or would he lawyer up? >> coming up >> i don't remember anything significant about the nigh before >> you said that the two of yo want to bed together >> yeah, i believe we did. >> i have a problem with you not remembering all of these things >> when dateline continues - i'm fernando, i live outside of boston. i've been with consumer cellular for five years. consumer cellular gives you all the same features that these big companies give you. what you get for the cost is remarkable. why would you pay more money?!

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narrator: seven years after the mysterious death of cory lovelace-- i just remember crying and not believing it. narrator: police have reopened the case. police have reopened the case. we missed something here.

>> witness something here. >> her husband, curtis, who ha been remarried twice the prime suspect. returning now to mystery on th mississippi. >> curtis lovelace have seen plenty of interrogation videos during his career as a forme prosecutor but in the summer of 2014, for the first time in his life curtis was the one in th hospital >> you have the right to remai silent, understand that >> anything you say can and will be used against you i a court of law and your lawyer, and you kno the number one rule is you d not talk to the police without having a lawyer present. but you talk what >> i talk, i want to danc through all their questions. i thought that they wanted t know the truth >> she indicated she did not feel well. >> on that valentines morning, curtis said corey was stil nursing that bad coal. >> i walked back upstairs with

her, she climbed into bed. >> he describes leaving th house and coming home only t find his wife dead in thei bedroom. >> she was cold and stiff just recall her hands being ou back >> many other detail surrounding his wife tha seemed to allude curtis. >> i don't remember anything significant about the nigh before >> you said the two of you wen to bed together. >> yes i believe we did vote it i been a long time so i gues it's possible that it would've slipped by myself. >> you said you took the kid to school? >> again, i believe i did. it's been so long. >> ironically, he did no remember a whole lot about tha day. >> not even whether he brought the kids to school that day? >> no, i just would've thought

that finding your wife dead in bed would've left more of an impression on you. >> to the detective, curtis wa trying to look helpful without really being so. gibson cut to the chase. >> the duke's mother cori with a pillow >> no i did not. but >> did you and cory have a bad argument did he get out of hand did you snap and then put pillow over her nose and mouth and suffocate or >> no, there were no bad arguments tonight before i it is exactly what i told th detective in 2006, and what told detective gibson in 2014, and what i'm telling you now that is what happened. she was sick and i came home and i found her that morning and she was dead in bed. >> it was clear the detectiv strategy had it yielded what h wanted a confession >> i have a problem with you not remembering all of these things

the lawyer's goal of talking his way out of trouble had not exactly worked either. even after he agreed, curtis said, to take alida tech t test and a short time, he was swapping out his buttoned down shirt and leather -- for a very different courthous look jailhouse black and whit stripes. >> coming up >> so you went into your mom's room and she was in bed? >> yes, i wake up every mornin and i go in the morning watched the show >> remember a time that was? >> no. >> are his kids the key to his freedom? >> i saw the mother alive that day. >> therefore she could not hav been killed. >> when dateline continues bu ♪ control of my crohn's means everything to me. ♪ ♪ ♪ control is everything to me. ♪ feel significant symptom relief with skyrizi, including less abdominal pain and fewer bowel movements at 4 weeks.

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dennis murphy (voiceover): curtis lovelace could not believe how his world had fallen apart. curtis cannot believe how' one minute, he was quincy's fair-haired boy. life had fallen apart. one minute he was a fair haire boy, the next he was being

interrogated by police for killing his first wife, cory >> on my side of the bed, when i found her dead >> meanwhile, christine was in a panic for two reasons. her husband had just bee arrested, now, she was looking for her sons >> i found out that all thre boys were at the polic station. >> the boys were down there? >> it had been taken out o school and held in isolation earlier in the day >> they've just 17, 15, and 12 years old at the time. all alone at the polic headquarters once christine found out the were there she rushed to the station. >> over the kids told? what did they think was goin on >> they thought that something had happened to me i walked into the room, they got up, and they all vote wher very scared. they hug me, i told them everything would be okay we will figure this out. >> detective gibson had rounde up the boys because he was

looking for more information >> we are looking into the death of your mom from 2006? okay >> detective start to question them about the last days o their mother's life. >> so you went into your mom's room when she was in bed >> we wake up every morning an then i go into the room an watch the show >> you remember a time that was? >> arson, the youngest son wasn't interviewed by police back in 2006 because he wa only four years old. now, he was telling detectiv gibson he wasn't sure if his mother was alive that day. he said he only remembered getting out of bed and going t his mom's room but she didn't answer him. >> i remember going into his room and then i think it's valentine's day. very >> that was gone, cam back, then i told him that velshi was not waking up >> but the two older boys said they did remember seeing their

mom that morning mrs. lincoln, the middle one >> i just remember like waking up, i remember her not feeling good and i was sitting on th stairs and then i went to school think a member saying i love you before we left but that's it. vin >> logan, the eldest son said he knew for certain tha his mom was alive that februar 14th >> she was sitting on the step vote, ready for us to leave th house. >> christine was still tryin to find her husband. she didn't know he had bee transported to a different jail eventually, he called. >> he told me everything would be okay. but and that we were going t have to fight some things. >> christine was a wreck, he husband was in jail, and she was dumbfounded as to why th police had taken the boys ou of school and then interviewed them without parenta permission she felt better about this - the two oldest boy back ther

that story and they had to see their mom, cory, alive on valentine's day morning. just as curtis had said. >> they saw their mother alive that day >> that is the gist of their story. yes, i saw her live that morning when that took us school >> so therefore she could've been downstairs. but dying of hunger mortis because we saw her alive >> yes >> the boy's sister, lindsey had also told police t separate times her mom was alive that day and they had seen are off to school on valentine's day. vin >> we saw her mom marching us out the door. >> on the day of her father' arrest, lindsay was away i college, she had emotional tal with her brothers. >> i talked to him on the phon today he got arrested and they passed a phone around, and the were sobbing because they were scared vin and they asked me to com home a and that was the last thing i ever said to them. like, ever talk to them. >> that is when another traged

unfolded within the lovelace family >> around the time of criticis rests, his relationship with his daughter, once, agai deteriorated the family doesn't want to get into details but soon, lindsay found hersel cut off from her brothers to >> i had been shut out completely shut out. >> a - and the theory of the crime. that he had put a pillow o your mother's nose and smothered her at a that is a stark image to dea with a >> it is something i didn' ponder, and i chose not to ponder >> though a jury would suit be pondering curtis's guilt o innocence. and august 2014. the 45-year-old former assistant state attorney found himself standing in courtroom. this time, as a defendant at his own arraignment. vin >> having to appear in a courtroom that i had served as a prosecutor, dressed an stripes, and having my hands and my feet shackled, thos

were some really a low times >> mary just eight month wife number three's commitment for better or for worse, was immediately put to the test. >> my husband, who is kind, an caring, and compassionate, his charge with something so heinous that it makes no sense >> if convicted, curti lovelace will spend the rest o his life in prison for the murder of his wife, cory as if that weren't enoug stress his daughter, lindsey, was about to be dropped bombshell. >> coming up, a daughter difficult decision >> i don't know what's i lindsey's head or her heart. one day she was happy, the everything changed >> a mother recounts which h says was curtis's bizarr behavior the day her daughte died >> i opened the door, and ther he was >> by the, way or is dead. >> when dateline continues

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a major storm system i planning to the south an midwest that has killed at least 40 people. 13 died in tennessee, where tornado destroyed building down to their foundation indiana, illinois, and arkansas, are among the affected states. former arkansas governor, asia hutchinson, has announced he's running for president. the republican has stepped u his criticism of forme president trump lately even saying that mr. trump should drop out of the race. now, back to dateline. now, back to dateline. hometown hero. now, his face was plastered on the front pages of quincy' newspaper has an accused murderer >> we are relying on scientifi -- >> media including nbc's quinc affiliate were all over th story. covering nearly every moment o his fall from grace. >> he's accused of killing his

first wife >> the former prosecutor would himself be prosecuted by - >> you can't get around rigo mortise. in my opinion. to make sense of this case and a timeline that doesn't make sense with curtis lovelace >> and january 2016, nearly decade after cory lovelace's death, curtis arrived for th first day of this trial. he faced 20 to 60 years in prison upon conviction for first degree murder. he pleaded, not guilty cameras were not allowed t record >> it is clear to me it didn't matter what happened as far as the prosecution was concerned. they were only concerned tha they needed to create a crime, they needed for me to look bad in order to do that. >> curtis did not necessaril need prosecutors help to, look bad. some of his own actions the da cory died were at the very least, unusual including never calling 9-1-1. >> call to >> his boss. >> his wife is then the bed an

he called his boss >> he said his wife is dead. so spa said, well, which lik me to call the ambulance people? he said yes, would you do that >> tory's mom, marty peterso who live just a few houses awa testified that curtis broke th news of her daughter step in what she thought was the mos callous way. there was a knock at her doo and curtis was standing ther with four year old - >> opened the door and he hand me larson. >> and says? >> oh, by the way, cory is dead. >> i got to say i think that i very strange >> they could grandson it by the way your daughter is dead. >> he was a motionless, let' put it that way. people who saw him that da claimed that he was, without a motion >> curtis also knew cpr and ye he never tried to revive his wife >> on the day, why did she d cpr? >> i don't know. i don't know why didn't do cpr i don't know i didn't call

9-1-1. looking back i saw my wife cor dead and i didn't know how to react >> >> prosecutor parkinson nex one after the first police investigation. pushing hard against detective bear who handed the case he questioned a bear gap curtis it was, then it assistant state attorney preferential treatment >> he was a prosecutor, they were the police. he gave them a story that he had about how it happened. they bought it, after all he's one of us. >> so maybe tougher question did not get asked. >> i think so. >> neighbors testified lovelac household with some time - and that parkinson suggested t jurors is the backdrop o corey's death. >> they fought all the time. it was a rocky marriage. lots of arguments going both ways and i got out of control maybe the evidence indicates that placing a pillow over one

space to make them stop yellin at me, maybe in her we can state, if she was had flu-like symptoms maybe it went too far. >> the state's theory, remember, is the force of the pillow cause that cuts and aberration on the outside and inside of course is lit. the prosecutor then employed the pillow was placed on her arms after she died and then later removed. >> if you leave it there through the night while rigo mortise is setting in, and the if a person is thinking, oh my god, what did i do where i that pillow? i'm gonna get rid of the pillow then the arms already up >> you think that's what happened >> yes >> then came perhaps the mos anticipated testimony for th prosecution. lindsey, curtis's own daughter told the state, two times over a span of eight years, she tol police her mother was aliv that morning >> she said she had felt better >> but on the stat, with her dad's life on the line, sh changed her story.

seven jurors, she was no longe sure her mom was alive that day. >> don't remember any of it. >> that's a thick in you memory >> and yet, detective bear notes you told him the story about seeing your mother then in the videotaped interview detective gibson you seem quite clear about tha morning. what had happened in the interim between your statement and going into trial on th stand and then kind of steppin back from all of that? >> it was a fact that no one had honestly asked me sincerel what had happened that day, an i never taken time to actually think about it >> what detective gibson did a couple years before we took statement. >> again, i did know i was asking me, i didn't was goin on, and i gave the store i always gave? so when i had to sit there and think about it i had to be honest with myself and it wasn't the answer i wanted, and i wish i could say i really do wish i could say yes i remember her, but no i didn't see here. >> you cannot say. that >> i >> cannot say that >> this is not to getting back to your dad?

>> no -- >> he needs that story in given to him >> no, because it hurts my brothers to. for me to not honestly say, yes, i saw her. but i can only say what remember, which is nothing it is a black hole it is a traumatizing event and when kids go t traumatizing events, they bloc things out and losing my mother was the worst day of my life >> how will we understand what is going on. because she has told the story that her brothers remember seeing her mom alive and she backs away from it and says, i think, well i can' remember really >> i don't know wha isn't lindsay's head and heart one day she was happy, the everything changed >> the prosecution still had n way to explain why the two oldest boys were adamant their mom was alive that day parkinson told jurors there wa a two day gap between courts that, and the first police interviews with the kids ample time, he suggested, fo the boys to be influenced by their dad.

>> i think the children were confused as to which day >> how about coached do you think you told him story? >> he had custody of the children from the moment of he discovery until thursday afternoon. so from tuesday, to thursday afternoon. we don't know what was said. >> dr. jane turner, th pathologist detective gibson hired to review the case too the stand and said science i where the truth lies she concluded in a mos reasonable explanation for corey's arms apparent to levitate is that cory was dead up to 12 hours before police arrived on the scene >> i viewed this material, reviewed it, with the high of scientist. and what we know about the development of rigor mortise >> what would the jury believe science, where the words fro two of cory's own sons cory's brother, a dentist, found himself struggling ove the conflicting facts. >> science is my life you know i have to believe in that, but i also have to believe in th

family at the same time. i'm completely torn. >> i've never seen a mor difficult case there doesn't seem to be any middle ground. >> there is none ouellette o he >> urged the jury to focu on the science and one image cory and her body and burger mortise. he said it proves she died hours before curtis claimed. and proved he was lying. a proof, he argued, that curti killed him >> coming up the defense gets its turn an christine is feeling optimistic >> i knew, in my heart, he was coming home. >> christine came in and the explain to her what was abou to happen. >> when dateline continues aww. [ audience cheers ] maybe try switching your car insurance to progressive. you could save hundreds. [ audience laughter ] thanks, tv dad. we'll think about it, okay? look what i found. -a puppy! -a puppy! oh, no, no. i wish tv dad was always in charge.

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drivers who switch and save with progressive dennis murphy (voiceover): the defense had a simple message for jurors. the defense had a simple curtis should not be on trial. message for jurors -- kurdish and not be on trial. that is because there was no crime, this was not a murder

it said the state's case was built on faulty science. >> i've said repeatedly, i this manner. there is no physical evidenc to prove that he murdered hi wife >> bettered pathologist doctor george nichols created the office of medical examiner for the state of kentucky back i the 1970s. now, as a defense expert, he told jurors recur more this is not an accurate indicator of time of death. and he added, where is the evidence that cory fought fo her life there are no signs of struggle and only a cut and abrasion on her lip. >> we will fight and selin longer can the thought that, somehow, you can suffocate someone, with th pillow and there would be only one dental mark is ludicrous >> detective barr testifie that when he first arrived o the scene cory stomach area wa still warm how is that possible defense asked? if she had died up to 12 hours earlier. >> so, if the body's warmth to the touch. my common sense tells me tha

this is someone who wa recently deceased. there is an errand tha assumption >> - the prosecution contends tha they killed cory and the hea of the moment. the couple's oldest so testified he didn't hear anything like that the night before and he should know because his room is right next to hi parents. it was even connected by a extra door that was usuall left slightly open >> she was all sick, i was like, i'll stay home with you and sh did let me stay home the two older boys, unlike their sister, stuck to the story they told police >> did she ever get out of bed >> yes, i think she did. >> jurors believe them it blew apart the prosecutions timelin that cory was murdered the night before >> they said the same thin that they had told - in 2006. and detective gibson in 2014 >> the defense had its sight set on detective gibson. they claimed, in 2013, he wa over eager newly promote

detective. primarily assigned to wa crimes against seniors this was his first murder case >> he transferred from canin officer to elder service officer at around the same tim he went to a one-week course o being a lead detective in homicide case. and he embarked on thi investigation that led to mind item and >> finally, the defense is medical expert concluded there was only one plausible explanation for corey's death. she had a history of drinkin and falling. which is what caused the abrasion and cuts. the bottom line, she was a alcoholic and volemic, suffering from liver disease someone who, unfortunately died of natural causes >> she's not normal 38 or woman. she has a significant diseas of a major organ that is associated with sudden death and with a liver failure >> in the end, curtis decide not to take the stand. ten women and two men will

decide lovelace's fate the deliberations went on fo two full days. then, christine got the call t come back to the courthouse. >> i knew, in my, hearts he wa coming home. >> he was coming home, we will prevail. >> but when he arrived bailiff read the letter to a small hearing. >> christine came in and explain to her, for the firs time, what was about to happen the judge will declare a mistrial >> kurt was sitting across and he said via, i'm not going t be able to come home tonight v be able to come home tonight v and v thin dennis murphy (voiceover): the jury was hopelessly deadlocked. i lost all my air. the vote, six guilty, six not. it was terrible. >> the jury was deadlocked the vote six guilty, six

not curtis will face another trial. since he couldn't make bail he will remain in jail unless - >> a deal, a play deal >> they had offered a second degree murder plea but i kne it was a decision, not onl that i had to make, but we hav to make as a family. and i didn't know whether could put them through another year of what we had alread gone through >> that is when one of practices lawyers turn t christine. >> he said that this can of al and right now if court agree to take this deal. he said would keep him fro dying in prison. >> i did have to admit his culpability and responsibility >> correct >> he wouldn't have to spend 1 years in prison. >> it too said no thanks to th states offer and geared up for a second trial

but that force them to fac another dire reality they were totally broke, unabl to afford another one. >> what are we going to do at that point there didn't appear to be any option. >> this could be a moment fo christine to say, i am out o here, i didn't sign on to be some - standing by her. manheim gone >> who could blame her if she had done that that is not who she is >> it looked as though curti would have to use a public defendant. but christine wouldn't accep that option. she worked her connections eventually, ended up here in chicago. >> she came for office and tol us her story i remember finding i compelling, certainly wort exploring further. >> john is not a crimina lawyer he's a civil rights attorney b practice who also does pro bono wor with the exoneration committee its aim, overturn wrongful

convictions. but curtis had not bee convicted, at least not yet. still, lobby and council tar thompson decided to take the case >> services would be free? >> the main concern that i had in this case from the outset was, really, the lack of evidence this didn't feel like a murder case from the beginning. >> with the new defense team i place, christine got working o her next goal. making bail to get her husband out of jail. friends eventually put up th cash >> almost two years after hi arrest curtis was released to his wife, and sons >> they greeted me a hancock county jail. i came home via to a dog that never met. and v, for the first time, but got to be back in my house back in my home. >> it wouldn't be home sweet home for long. while curtis and mr. lovelac

number three waited for th trial in the alleged murder of mrs. lovelace number one the judge ruled mrs. lovelac number two could testify against a former husband and what a story she had t tell >> coming up, erica, out of th skies and on to stand. >> he ripped my shirt and then he let me go and he tried to grab me again. i had to try to bite him off >> when dateline continues ♪breeze driftin' on by...♪ ♪...you know how i feel.♪ you don't have to take... [coughing] ...copd sitting down. ♪it's a new dawn,...♪ ♪...it's a new day,♪ it's time to make a stand. ♪and i'm feelin' good.♪ start a new day with trelegy. no once-daily copd... ...medicine has the power to treat copd... ...in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler,... ...trelegy makes breathing easier for a full 24 hours, improves lung function, and helps prevent future flare-ups.

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dennis murphy (voiceover): curtis lovelace kurtis lovelace was a loca was a local celebrity, or at least so infamous, celebrity. or at least infamous according to his new defense team that h couldn't get a fair trial an his hometown a judge agreed so, trial number two was mov from quincy to springfield illinois about two hours away >> the defense is going to com up here and try to portray him

as a member of the community that it's a facade >> david robinson will join ed parkinson for the prosecution. this time, cameras were allowe in the courtroom, and the tria started in march 2017. >> our house were 15 feet apar from each other. >> as in the first trial neighbors testified they often heard arguing from their home. this woman lived next door and said she heard shouting almost every day. >> essentially, for the entire time that we lived there, so six years. >> as i walk by the house heard an argument. a loud argument. >> another neighbor testifie she heard cory and curti really going at it and on th specific dates the night before valentine's day 2006 she happened to be out for a stroll >> actually, did cause me to pause. i guess i was listening to see if somebody was in distress. >> the prosecution's theor

this go around on how cory die remain the same. after a heated argument, the night before valentine's day curtis suffocated his wife wit the pillow in a fit of rage. he then waited up to 12 hour before police were called. >> and once again, signs wil play a leading role in the prosecution's case but prosecutors had a ne witness, a star forensic expert >> have also testified befor the house of representatives >> in the 64 year career doctor - has consulted on the jfk and martin luther king assassinations as well as in other high profile cases including thos of phil spector and case anthony. >> the appearance of the injur leaves no doubt that this is i not a healing wound. >> and a darkened courtroom, h showed photos that talked abou that cut inside cory's mouth curtis had told police his wif had fallen the day before sh died, his explanation for th injury

but this expert said he saw no signs the cut was an old one >> there is no evidence of healing. so this looks like like at the time that it it was incurred >> the abrasion on the outside the lip, and the cut inside, indicated to spits that an object, like a pillow, had bee placed on corey's face shortly before she died. >> this is not an accident this is not a natural death, this is not suicide, this is a homicide >> then came testimony the first jury got to hear and was explosive. for this trial the judge wil allow, erica goldman, live member to testify. remember, when we interviewe her she wanted to protect he identity with foul on the witness stand she could no longer be shielde by disguise. prosecutors call the ex-wife t the stand to try to show tha curtis had a history o violence she recounted one incident, sh

says, that happened at hom during their marriage. >> it started probably drinkin about nine a.m. while we had been arguing about kids and he came rushing at me and tried t grab me and tried to hurt me he grabbed my shirt, and h yanked it up really hard hard enough to injured my knee hard enough to wreck my shirt. then he let me go and tried to grab me again. and i kept on trying to bite him off. >> then erika told the jur another shocking story she said curtis had been drinking at a party. later that night he blurted ou something she found disturbing >> he is rarely honest excep for when he's been drinking. and he was upset about something. i asked him what he was upse about and he said it was - something she was riding underneath me and said, oh, th black cat.

>> estranged that story sounded, the prosecutor took it to mean this curtis wasn't talking about cat, but about cory's last minutes of life, as sh struggled while curtis smothered her. >> erica had a story to tell a well he says, i could hear he riding beneath me. >> yes, that was evidence >> it sounds as thoug he's talking about killing his wife there >> we thought it sounded lik that and she testified to that under oath on the stand. i could feel her riding beneat me that is pretty much what would've happened if suffocation was occurring. >> the prosecution believe this evidence against curtis was overwhelming not so fast said the defense that's because it had some things up its sleeve a new piece of last-minute evidence and what an interesting nugget the accrued. >> coming up, tough question for erica. >> someone made that up, someone put those words in there.

my son should be there maybe we could redo this >> bombshell testimony >> but did you decide to pursu this investigation -- >> >> i did not. >> when dateline continues

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reason there was no murder. >> all the medical evidence in this case indicates that she died as a result of an acute sudden onset condition one of the defenses ke takeaways was to debunk th damaging testimony of curtis's ex, erica. that he had violently attacked her and ripped her shirt >> once we finish talking, and i take my notes. >> one of the first defens witnesses was majored larr fulton, the illinois nationa guard. >> asked if she wants to make swarm statement. which is in writing. she said yes, she would. >> erica had filed at th domestic violence charge wit the guard, since curtis at the time was still active. the major was appointed to loo into the charges he testified as to what eric told him >> she started backing up. while backing up she fell. then he went out to pick her up what did he said h accidentally struck reductio with a shoulder. >> slow down, he sai accidentally, what you mean by accidentally >> that was her words. >> erica at first reported

curtis accidentally hitter the major added that she initially didn't mention anything about curtis rippin her shirt. after conducting a investigation he concluded her charges were founded >> there was nothing there t actually lead to domesti violence >> armed with that information the defense confronted erica i the cross examination for th wrong statement. but there could set the to with used in court was a fake. >> someone made that up. someone put those words in there. my signature should be there my signature is not here, this is typed, this is written, and one could redo this. >> then the defense di something unusual. we asked eric about othe accusations he has made agains curtis and she had a laundry list o complaints >> he knows how to forge paperwork. he used my social security number to try and steal mone out of my counts he knows how to get rid of evidence he stole my daughters bicycl out of the garage. >> at one point, and overwhelm erica asked for a timeout. >> can i get a break please? >> but ercot was unfolding

she parted out another allegation court against her ex >> he was poisoning me my hair was falling outs white lines were on my fingers i was extremely sick >> eric acclaimed critics ha tried to poison her, and her daughter's she told police he likely pu something in her orange juice. according to the defense there is a problem with that charge. erica had another sought medical care >> you never went to a docto and said i'm being poisoned. >> it would not have mattered. >> when eric leftist and wha do you think the jury ma differ >> i think they were shocked a the state called are the state thought that the could score point. but when she was subjected t cross-examination she was not credible person. >> there was one other theme they want to drill into th jury and it concerns the lead detective. adam gibson, he argued, ha gone - that is he consulted a serie of pathologist before findin wanted to give him the answe he was looking for

yes, cory's death was, in fact a murder >> if my opinion is not what h wants he's going to be going looking for somebody else. >> doctor -- was one of the pathologist tha she approached her opinion, detective gibso wanted her to call this homicide when that was not he conclusion >> he had a theory and was looking, somehow, to substantiate that theory >> the regional pathologists the original coroner, said tha there was insufficient evidenc to find a homicide he got other opinions from other pathologist who also tol him there's nothing unusua here you're barking up the wron tree >> then came even more damagin accusations against gibson the defense said it obtained at the last-minute, imported emails and other documents i was supposed to have receive from the police, but never did potentially -- important evidence >> it was not something that i thought of, no >> one emails from a medical expert he wore detective gibson tha if the first pathologist lef the cause of death a

undetermined that opinion with trump anyone else's. and he implied that would give plenty of reasonable doubt to jury >> they should've been turne over by now. >> - he didn't turn over. >> i did not >> the prosecution's cas appeared to be teetering then came another blow >> william ballard was one o the first emts on the scene. when he arrived he want to place ekg stickers on corey' body to check for a heartbeat. so, he moved her arms. >> her arms were down agains chess, i had to pull them up t check for a pulse and a chec for any rigor mortise and also move her arms up to ou complacent warm supposed t place them >> he moved cory's arms before the police photos were taken that means her arms were not i the same position as seen in the photographs, the ones that started this entire second investigation. the defense seized on that

fact >> did you know, when yo decide to pursue thi investigation, that the arms had been moved >> i did not >> is the first time you'r hearing that, as you sit her today? >> that the arms have been parts of the pictures? yes. because, basically, your investigation to cop because you believed the arms were in position that was suspicious right? >> yes >> a final surprise, for the first time the defendant curtis lovelace took the stand he insisted he wasn't a violen man, never harmed his second wife erica, and certainly di not kill lori. >> i did love cory and i kno the kids loved her and it ha been difficult >> the defense wrapped up it questioning with an emotiona curtis telling jurors of the enormous toll the two trials are taken on him and his family >> how long have you with your family had to live with this process?

v [crying] it has been two and a half years >> on cross examination, the prosecution pointed out that a whole bunch of witnesses, fact in this trial, would have to b wrong for curtis to be innocent >> >> it sounds to me like you're saying erica's lying, detective gibson is lying, marty's flying, and the scienc is lying do you agree with that characterization >> it's up to them to decide who's lying. >> after seven days of testing curtis lovelace's trial ha come to an end the jury began deliberations remember, the first panel wa deadlocked at 66 >> let me ask you this, have you reach a unanimous verdict? >> this go around, the jury wa out and about two hours before they came back with th decision >> we the jury find th defendant, pardus t lovelace not guilty

>> 11 years after cory's death two and a half years after criticism rest, and to jur trials later not guilty to our verdict, the murder trial, what does that tell you >> that tells me they were absolutely convinced he wa innocent >> that is not a prosecutor, e parkinson sees it >> does the system work i order to get away with murder? >> sometimes it works, i think my partner in the prosecutio said you're looking at a guy who we think might have gotten away with murder i feel bad - >> how you feel right now? >> while the legal consequence for curtis are over the fallou from cory's death paralyzed th extended family. >> i don't know what to believ any more >> lindsey, now a teacher, remains a strange from her father but she hopes to salvage something despite all that it' happened a relationship with he brothers >> i pray every day and hope that one they'll get a call, a text, a message, and, emai

something. from one of them >> cory's mom -- >> did you come to an opinio about what role if and h hadn't inquiries that curtis >> it's the pair i've kept my mouth shut for long time. i'm going to keep it that way. >> curtis said the state offered increasingly attractiv plea deals before the start of the second trial but he turned them all down. he later filed a lawsuit against several police officers, the city of quincy, and adam county the suit alleged, maliciou prosecution and curtis's kid were falsely imprisoned during these police interviews. the party settled for a tota of four and a half million dollars. the lovelace family moved ou of quincy, and curtis opened a new law office and champagne illinois >> we request that we go ahead -- >> he and christine started an exoneration type organization. he said they want to hel

others wrongfully accused of convictions. >> christine, what happens you guys in this whole thing >> i don't know what happene to us. we are still figuring that out these kinds of things happen across our country, every day. now, i think we have a obligation to share this story and to help other people >> your goal was to leave that courthouse an innocent man >> yes, i believe, looking i the eyes of that jury an seeing the tears from some o them, and how quickly they cam back that they were declaring, to me, and the world that i a innocent >> curtis lovelace, a life interrupted. ♪♪ ♪♪ this sunday, trump indicted. >> it's been a long time coming. this sunday, trump indicted.