cutting her sentence in half to 25 years to life. for the conviction was a victory for dave's family, yes, but not one to celebrate. >> our faith causes to forgive, and we do. we forgive her. >> forget? no, not the lauts, not their superman. >> it is very difficult. i miss him every day. i miss him every day. i think i will always grieve. i'm always going to miss him, he is always a part of me. but, it is hard. >> that's all for this edition of dateline, i'm craig melvin. thanks for watching. >> i'm craig melvin >> and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is dateline. >> i could not believe it.

i couldn't imagine anyone would ever want to hurt her. i had no idea what could've happened. >> married to her high school sweetheart, family meant everything to her. >> there was always a lot of talk about children. she wanted grandchildren, fast. >> but it all went up in smoke the night she died in a mysterious and monstrous inferno. >> who is to the right of the mattresses that we found the remains of julie. >> shocking as the blaze was, it was nothing compared to what investigators found in the embers. >> it's a bullet. >> yes. >> so this woman has been shot to death. >> yes.

the obvious suspects. neighborhood thieves. >> there were half a dozen house burglaries unsolved. >> investigators also dug into a favorite theory, a husband. >> i was angry. i felt that the detectives were on a manhunt and they were after my dad. >> then a pop to text the might just be a clue. >> you could say maybe she's driving events here. >> that's correct. >> the truth, beyond twisted. leaving behind smoking ashes and burning questions. >> i physically started shaking and i started. crying i want to know why. >> welcome to dateline. julie griffith was a loving wife and doting mother. then a blaze ripped through her home and she was gone. was this an accident? a bungled burglary? or was it something else entirely? here's dennis murphy with consumed. >> the canterbury hills subdivision in kentucky is a good place to raise kids. tidy homes kept up by neighbors

living ordered lives. so as the front porch lights winked out on just another day, what happened one cold january night in the wee hours was especially alarming. a roaring, all consuming fire was devouring one of the nice homes. >> it was awful. half of the house was gone. >> what would rise from those ashes was far more than a fire marshals investigation in a cause. there would be a probe into the deepest route of a treachery beyond most peoples comprehension. >> it's not true. >> what had they all missed. >> a monster, a liar a cheater. >> he's destroyed my entire family. >> before it became charred rubble, the house was home to a

long time couple, keith and julie griffith. churchgoing, golf playing, high school sweethearts. 36 years into a marriage that had produced two sons. aaron, the older. >> they were very supportive parents. they were loving, they love my kids. >> aaron took after his dad. athletic, easygoing, levelheaded. younger brother zach was more of a firecracker like his mom. there was the time for instance in the sixth grade, zach grabbed a shovel and started digging a hole for a koi pond in the backyard. >> my parents came home and said look we're doing? i'm like i am digging a pond.. >> were they okay with it? >> yeah, they were fine.

they were kind of, like well this is going to be a nightmare. >> when aaron and zach fees in this, the grief this lives seem to only get busier. they joined a motorcycle class through the church, and frequently were golf foursome with friends dragon temple bradley. >> everybody that knew keith loved him great guy. >> did he become your best friend? >> yeah definitely one of my very best friends. >> tumble felt that way above julie too. >> she had a heart of gold. she would do anything for, you but she also wasn't afraid to tell you exactly what was either. >> did she get peoples feathers ruffled? >> oh, yeah, yeah, but everybody loved her. >> after early retirement from the water company, he found another job as it. but keith never worried for her well-being in that neighborhood. they were watched over by their belongings great dane fever. >> they would leave and go to dinner go to town and leave the door unlocked. because cleo was the guard dog. as full as a griffiths life seemed to be, they were transformed when aaron ali brought into the their first daughter in the world. >> when they had their first child was a greatest day for

life. >> julie lived for my little girl. she wanted to be a part of everything that she did. >> and julie was there for allie when she went into labor with their second daughter, and elise. white knuckle dash to the hospital and julie the affectionate name, as karen. >> she was honking the horn. >> was she saying to you? y >> she says keep your legs crossed don't have the baby in the car. >> everything seemed to be going great when in 2013, craig had weight loss surgery and dropped more than 100 pounds. julie was over the moon with two granddaughters. but also that year came the rift. zach disclosed to his very religious conservative parents that he was gay. >> and went from my mom was my best friend and going from talking to her multiple times a day to just being completely shut off. >> julie visited zak that fall. they tiptoed around the elephant in the room, but the time together gave zach hope.

>> was that a step as you look back towards patching things up with your mom? >> yes there was a way forward. it was a way forward meaning just need more time. >> but then came that cold night in january. >> 9-1-1. what is your emergency. >> there is a fire in canterbury in there's not a fire truck here. >> a deputy drove toward the griffin home, his dash cam recorder catching this quick glimpse of the blaze. then, the fire trucks arrived. mccracken county sheriff's detective, fire department received a call in the middle of the night. >> the very bad fire, very hot. the whole house was completely consuming fire. >> it took about an hour for firefighters to knock down the flames. >> hours more for them to make their way through the blackened wreckage of the house, to what seemed to be the heart of the fire. the master bedroom. ghastly, what they would discover. >> investigators make a pair of discoveries and realize they are dealing with both a tragedy and a mystery.

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clinically proven to remove skin tags safely in as little as one treatment. >> daybreak revealed the quick aftermath of the blaze at 307

tudor boulevard. whisps of smoke rose from the black water soaked wreckage that was once the griffin home. detective matt carter -- >> this entire structure had crumbled, it was a pile of ashes that was on the ground. we didn't even know if anyone was home or not. we knew that they were in and out of town a lot. >> as firefighters carefully walked through what appeared to be the fires epicenter, the master bedroom, their worst fears were confirmed. julie had, in fact, been at home that night. >> it was around the box mattresses that i looked and saw the remains of julie. they were unsure that it was julie's remains. >> even with all of their experience. >> yes. everything was just consumed by fire that things were unrecognizable. >> as for keith, he was away, calling on customers in india. word of julia's death spread almost as fast as the fire had raced through the house. >> we're getting ready for work on the tv on in the background. >> we are live in the canterbury hills subdivision on

tutor boulevard -- >> then temple bradley's phone rang. it was also a friend who knew julie. >> he said there was a fire. it's keith and julie's house. i just sat there. >> did she know at that point that julie was gone? >> she knew. she told me. >> temples husband immediately kept tracked down keith as he was making the three hour drive home from indiana. >> he said i'm on my way. and probably two hours away. i said are you all right? he said, yeah, yeah. i could tell he was in shock. >> the news hit zach griffith particularly hard. since coming out to his mother, his relationship had been strained, and now this. >> i guess you're just beating yourself up something terrible. that you had been sideways with her. >> yeah and i know that if

we are just giving more time, that would have we would've been close again, that you know that mom and son duo that we were. but we didn't have the time. it was ripped away from us. and i'll never get it back. >> aaron, the elder son had more of a take charge reaction. >> i did take care of my brother, take care my dad. >> logistics, the grief you get absorbed. >> yeah for me, as just kind of the way my brain is wired, i guess. >> within hours, the griffiths would head from all directions from which would be an anchor in their lives, the family home. >> just gave my dad a big. we were both crying, we were like, i can't believe this would happen? >> keith's best friend, greg bradley was airline support. >> i will see, the first time i saw to identify. >> he was still shaking. >> as if the news couldn't get any worse, the griffiths great dane cleo, along with a second that daisy and also perished in the blaze. dragon keith walked the property surveying the damages. >> when we get to the koi pond, it was like got to get those

fish out of there. julie would kill me if something happened those fish. let's not worry about that right now. >> overwhelmed by loss, the griffiths were faced with the question. how could this have happened? >> the first thought was that it was the new heating and air unit. it had just gone in. >> the unit have been installed just days before the fire. >> that was my very first thought, that somehow the new heating and air unit wasn't put in properly. faulty installation. >> as for the cause julie's, death that was left to the county coroner's office. here's a deputy coroner. >> what were you working with? >> a very charred body. i could not bury will identify the person. >> the cause of death seemed obvious, but just to be sure, julie's remains were sent on to the medical examiner for an autopsy.

what he discovered was as deeply troubling as it was unexpected. >> he recovered a projectile in the remains. >> a bullet? >> yes. >> suddenly, what was thought to be death by smoke inhalation was a homicide. closer examination revealed three bullet holes in all of julie's torso. the deputy coroner immediately called the sheriff's office. >> i said, we need to get some people back to that house because this is going to be a homicide. >> what did you think, wow. >> absolutely. >> lady in a nice neighborhood, good house. >> right. >> now she's got three bullet wounds. >> that's right. a whodunnit crime. >> back at 307 tutor boulevard, fire equipment pulled out, as sheriff cruisers pulled in. would the charred wreckage of the home, once filled with joy and laughter, now hold clues pointing to a killer. >> coming up, this detective spies what could be a critical clue on someone's phone. >> ping, up comes a text message. >> that's correct. >> when dateline continues.

>> the theory that julie died by accidental fire had collapsed as suddenly as the griffith house itself. for detective matt carter, a 45 caliber slug recovered from her torso turn the charred rubble into the scene of a homicide. i'm guessing, you had a change

a whole lot. >> it changed a lot. >> despite more than a decade on the job, the detective had his work cut out for him. no hair fiber, bloody footprints, none of that stuff. >> right. you've got an arson that's destroyed any chance of obtaining any of that from the scene. >> for detective carter, the most obvious theory, this homicide was the work of a home intruder. >> a burglary gone bad. >> somebody looking for the top, or whatever jewelry -- >> right. we had had some burglaries within a few miles of this area -- >> within weeks or months? >> within weeks. within weeks. >> as police canvassed the neighborhood for leads and witnesses, the investigator also had to consider the perpetrator may have been someone julie knew. >> you're not really anyone out or in, you're simply going through the motions. you're speaking to immediate family first, and working your way out. >> the sheriff's department did not tell the griffiths that julie had been murdered. >> we were not told anything by the police, at that point.

>> but any one at the scene might have guessed foul play was somehow involved. >> there was just cops all over the property. >> so, you said why the cops? >> exactly. >> naturally, the first person detective carter interviewed was julie's husband, keith. >> first of all, we are sorry for your loss. >> appreciate that. >> at first, keith talked about whatever one perceived was the cause of the inferno. an accidental fire, set off by a newly installed heating unit. >> you had a new gas back put in tuesday? >> -- >> i mean it was a whole new system. >> keith explain the contractor was a friend of his who had done the work just few days earlier. >> they put a rush on it. i mean, you know, it this kind of what friends do for each other. >> okay. >> and i hope to god that this problem is not his. >> eventually, without giving details, the detective reveal that julie's death was no accident. >> the investigation is showing that the foul play is involved. i do not believe, at this point in time, that this was any kind of an accident.

i want to ask for your cooperation on several things, okay? >> okay. >> one of the first things detective carter asked about was how keith and julie were getting along. >> any problems at all that you had? anything like that whatsoever? >> no, she was my best friend. i mean, i know -- i mean, that woman loved everybody. >> the investigator also asked keith for details about his business trip to indiana. >> didn't leave the hotel? >> i did leave the hotel, at about 11:00. i want to go get something to drink. i left again at about 4:00 and just went and got a donut and a coke. like i said, i get up pretty early. >> what about weapons? did keith on a gun? >> i have a 45 acp in my work truck that i just got, and it's never had any -- i mean, it's never been loaded. >> as part of standard protocol, the detective asked for keith clothes, they would be tested for gunshot residue.

>> what you're wearing now, is that fresh clothes from this morning, whenever you -- >> this is what i wore yesterday. >> before wrapping up the interview, the detective took a look at keith's cell phone. >> while i'm reviewing this phone, i see that he obtains a text message, an incoming text message from a lady by the name of deana james. >> paying, have come to text message. >> that's correct. >> message read, did you make it home okay? >> keith was quick to point out his relationship with deana was completely platonic. >> she's more like a guy friend. >> no big deal, nothing sexual. >> that's right. >> after that, keith was released to go and grieve with his family. detective carter, meanwhile, set out to verify keiths story. >> he had a receipt where he had stayed. >> that puts him three hours away from this house fire. >> that's correct. it showed his check-in time, and check out time. >> a quick check of the gun show that he was telling the truth about it is well.

the gun looked as though it had never been fired. >> so maybe he's not the guy. >> may not be. >> so then, who was? >> coming up, the detective sits down with deana. was she really like a guy friend to keith? >> you can say, maybe she's thriving -- maybe she wants to get rid of the wife. >> that's correct. >> when dateline continues. o these days? getting inspired! volunteering! playing pickleba...! ahhh! icy hot pro starts working instantly. with two max-strength pain relievers,

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look at what is happening, a man hunt is still underway in texas for the suspect that police say killed five people including an eight-year-old boy. authorities say francisco is armed and very dangerous, they say he started shooting at his neighbors after they are still to stop firing the gun in his yard late friday night. now turning to the warn ukraine, russian officials are blaming ukrainian drones for a fire at a crimean oil depot on saturday. this incident comes a day after russia fired more than 20 cruise missiles into drones

killing at least 23 people. five children are among the dead. now, back to dateline. w, back to dateline. >> julie's family had hardly had time to absorb the herbert thick news of her death and in a house fire, when disturbing rumor started reaching them, that investigators thought her death was foul play. the sheriff's department kept details of the murder quiet for days. >> i could not believe it. >> daughter-in-law, ali -- >> i could not imagine anybody that could want to hurt her, much less set the house on fire, the dogsm perished. i had no idea what could've happened. >> no enemies. i mean, it made no sense. just who would want to kill her? >> after keith was released, the night of his interview with the detectives, he headed straight to his friends, the

bradley's. they were floored to hear the line of questioning that he recounted. what was up with this marriage? his alibi? the gun he owned? >> he had been questioned to the point he almost felt that they thought he did -- he had done this. >> -- also got called down to the station that same evening, and he too was questioned about his parents marriage. >> notice anything lately, in their relationship, as far as any problems, or anything like that -- >> no. >> nothing. >> was there any money troubles, was there any relationship things that we knew of? >> but, to a person in the griffith circle, the very idea that keith might know something about julie's death was, well, flat out crazy. >> i knew he didn't do it. >> there wasn't any way that he was involved in this. i remember sitting there, looking over at keith, and watching him for a while, and i said, you can't even grieve, can you? he said, no, they've taken it

all away. >> the friends working theory was a botched break-in. they'd heard about the neighborhood's recent rash of burglaries, maybe that's what happened to julie. >> i come in, they saw -- >> the dog start to bark. >> it caused really to wake up and they got scared and they shot are. >> it made perfect sense. >> before detective carter, the burglary theory of the crime wasn't panning out. even as they sorted through the rubble, detectives at the scene found untouched valuables, two saves, a cache of guns and julie's purse, sitting in plain sight. >> do you think an intruder would've grabbed it? >> you think. >> so, carter set out to follow the most promising lead he had, who was this woman, diana? the text message or who wondered if keith made it home okay. he had described her as a guy

friend. >> there was something about the text message that seemed to stick out and it seemed to create that question of, you know, what's missing here? >> carter had called ahead to the authorities -- were diana lived. they'd arranged to bring the woman down to an interview room. she was waiting. my name is matt carter. >> diana was about to tell the detective a story that would dramatically reshape this investigation. >> was he a guy friend? >> no it was more than that. >> diana's shared the same story with us. >> he wanted me to love him. >> she said that her and keith met years earlier out of an affair. >> through the cfo of an i. t. company, keith the role warrior lawnmower's salesman had a booth there. >> keith was sitting there not guessing caught as attention right away. >> you noticed -- >> i noticed he was staring at me so i kind of smile -- >> she said he asked her to dinner. >> they quickly discovered how much they had. uncommon >> he told talked about both his sons, and talked about being a grandpa. so i just really connected,

because i had grandkids too. >> after several dates, diana says, keefe expressed interest in a relationship. but she wanted to keep it just friends. they stayed in touch but didn't see each other for a while. then just a few months back, he sent her a flirty text message. >> the text just said, did you cast a spell on me? and i'm like, i looked at down at my phone and thought what? >> he said i was at a party and a woman was trying to me, up at all i could think about was you. >> diana who is in the throes of a traumatic romantic breakup, agreed to start seeing it again for dinner. and she says, he seemed excited to show off the new post surgery keith. >> says you're not gonna recognize me! i lost over hundred pounds. i said you have? >> to look okay? >> he looked fine. i think he was more confident as well. >> diana says keith now began aggressively courting her, showering her with gifts, flowers, notes of affection. it was all she said a bit much. >> he kept pushing for more.

i kept telling him, you need to back off, you need to slow down, because i'm just not there. >> diana says she couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something about keith that was holding her back. maybe was the fact that he still seemed unusually bound to a woman he called's ex-wife. from the very beginning, diana says, keith told her that he was divorced. >> very first conversation? >> i'm a divorced guy. >> right. >> by the time she was sitting across from detective carter in the interview room, diana said she and keith never been intimate but they were dating, and keith was talking long-term, house hunting for them. >> he said i don't want to scare you, but i want you to know i am looking for properties here in mooresville to buy. so -- for us to be together. >> for the detective, the diana story put a whole new spin on the investigation. keith griffith now seemed like a man with a very big secret, or thinking like a homicide

active, was she the one with the secret? you could spin it another way and say well maybe she's wants to get rid of the wife. >> that's correct. we were open for that being an idea or a possibility. >> in fact, the detective had let her tell her story without ever explaining the reason for his visit. now he laid out his cards. >> was he not divorced. >> no. >> he says first of all, keith is not divorced. according to him, he's been married to his high school sweetheart for 36 years. and, i just broke down because i can't believe it. >> but of course there was more. >> we are conducting an investigation. and this investigation involves, what we believe to be a homicide of his wife. >> i was in shock, i said oh my gosh, i can't believe what he just said. i had no idea.

>> so you believed she had been played by this guy. >> i believe that she had. >> so detective carter wondered, if keith griffith had minute belated allied to this woman, and keith lied to him to? maybe it was more about what keith hadn't said. rewind to that moment when the detective dropped what should be devastating news to keith. >> investigating is showing that foul play is devolve. >> did you ask the questions, did you tell me she was killed? you'd expect that. >> no >> there was no question to that. >> but if keith griffith was somehow involved in his wife's murder, how on earth did he pulled it off? after all, he was hundreds of miles away at that hotel the night of the crime. unless of course, he wasn't. >> coming up, a security video surprise.

>> scrolling through the tape. >> and when did you bingo moment come up? >> and then a twist rocks the entire griffith family. >> we were all frantic. we had no idea how could've happened. >> when dateline continues. th new flonase headache and allergy relief! two pills relieve allergy headache pain? and the congestion that causes it! flonase headache and allergy relief. psst! psst! all good! my a1c was up here; now, it's down with rybelsus®. flonase headache and allergy relief. his a1c? it's down with rybelsus®. my doctor told me rybelsus® lowered a1c better than a leading branded pill and that people taking rybelsus® lost more weight. i got to my a1c goal and lost some weight too. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction.

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cold-blooded murder of julie griffith, family and friends gathered at her church to say

goodbye. between the visitation and the memorial service, son zach was overwhelmed. >> she was just an amazing woman that my mom was to have that many people come out just to say that i just wanted to give their condolences. >> to close friends craig and temple bradley, julie's husband keith was more a motion will need ever seen. >> tears. >> tears. >> sadness. i've never seen him cry in my life. >> but even as the griffith family mourned, zach and his brother were feeling uneasy about the investigation which seem to be focused exclusively on their father. >> i was angry. i felt that the detectives, the sheriff's department were on a manhunt and they were after my dad. >> because the husbands always do it? >> yes.

the husbands always do it, and they just seem like they zeroed in on him and we're going into 110 miles an hour, and we're not respectful to my brother and i about any developments or anything going on. >> but detective carter had an ongoing investigation and he felt there was ample reason to pursue their dad. after his interview with diana, he'd driven in the hotel, and there he uncovered a bombshell. remember keith saying to the detective you've been at the hotel the entire night, docking ages twice to get a drink and the snack? while unhappily for keith's alibi, when the detective looked at the hotel security video, and told a vastly different story. keefe is seen leaving as a client around 11 pm but -- >> i think within 15 to 30 minutes he's gonna be returning. that never happened. >> you're scrolling through the tape. >> scrolling through.

scrolling through. >> a name when did your bingo moment arrived. >> he finally arrived back at the hotel six hours and 34 minutes after he had it left initially. >> god for more than six and a half hours. was that enough time for keith drive back home to his house in kentucky, commit the crime and return? >> so what did you and your partner fine when you put a clock to it? >> drove the speed limit to and from, it would've allowed approximately 20 minutes at least to have committed the crime. >> is that enough time for him to do this. >> i believe it was ample. >> 15, 20 minutes. >> keith griffith was her arrested and charged with arson murder. >> here are your answer to the allegations, sir? >> he pleaded not guilty could face a death battle. >> we were frantic, we had no idea how could've happened. because at that point we knew there was no way that he had

anything to do with it. >> so this is nightmare country? >> yes. but again we, thought it would all be explained. they would do the job, they would take him and the truth would come out. >> i was 100% convinced that he was innocent and they were taking the wrong person in. meanwhile, the person who actually did it was getting away. >> family and friends were for sure distressed to learn that keith another woman on the road, but the revelation wasn't enough to shake their support for him. >> it was a shock, but it was something that we accepted as a mistake but that did not mean if he killed julie. >> there's no way he did. it not to julie. his mother now there's no way he did it. >> but when keith griffith went to trial in february, 2015. >> all rise. >> prosecutor raymond mckee laid out a formidable circumstantial case. >> on january 17th, 2014 keefe griffith decided he could kill his wife. >> a cornerstone of the case was that hotel security video. not only did it show keith gone for enough time to commit a crime the prosecutor said, and also caught him in ally. remember in his interview, keith told police he hadn't swapped clothes that night.

>> at any point did you change clothes? >> no. >> but a look at the security footage showed he had. >> he left wearing one set a close, she was in one of his work shirts, came back dressed in all-black. >> the prosecutor also showed security video captured from residents near the griffith home. it caught a glimpse of an suv pulling into the subdivision shortly before the fire. >> it's a little blurry, it's a few seconds long, but it sure looked like keith griffiths car. and enough >> and another circumstantial bit. bit who else but keith prosecutors said, could've got by the griffiths aggressive great dane cleo, certainly not an intruder. >> family mother member couldn't could've come, and not an intruder. >> how could've keith a, man by all accounts loved his wife,

actually do it. the prosecutor turned to two age-old motives. >> almost every case involving husband and wife's lost and greed. one of the other. and this one had both. >> the last part of the equation was diana. >> raise your right hand. >> she took the stand and told the jury that not only was keith house hunting for him, he was also making plans to bring down to paducah for a concert and introduce or to his family. >> i'd love for you to come to the family, stay for the weekend, go to the concert, and i would really like you to meet my dad. >> as for the greed part, that was life insurance money. two policies on julie's life, worth $250,000. one of them, the prosecutor said, had taken effect just eight days before julie died. >> keith griffiths got to the point in his life, he just wanted to start something new. he didn't want to give julie grievous which he would've needed in a divorce, and been entitled to.

>> keys daughter in law, ali griffiths, listen to the entirety of the prosecution's case. all she heard were theories. >> they spawn a story, and they told the story how they wanted to go. they had facts that supported their story, but did not prove it. >> and that's what's keith's defense attorney, mark bryant, hammered home to the jury. >> what's no evidence mean? >> they didn't have dna, they didn't have any kind of forensics, they didn't have a confession. they had nothing. they had circumstantial evidence. >> in their haste to arrest keith, the defense argued the police had gotten a wildly wrong. yes, he conceded keith wasn't the husband of the year, but he said, diana story that keith was pursuing her for a long term commitment was nonsense. >> rather, what he wanted was a port in every storm. >> as for the life insurance, $250,000 was far from a financial win fall, he said. even the bradley's new, the reason keith and julie bought that new policy was because of a friend's recent tragedy. >> she had been nagging them about getting -- making sure they had plenty of life insurance. and, he argued, the footage of the suv pulling into the

subdivision was far too blurry to idea as keith's ford expedition. besides, -- >> if a guy's gonna go through that much trouble to kill his wife, why would he drive an expedition that everybody knows he has. >> but the big questions still remained, if keith hadn't driven back to paducah to kill julie, where had he gone the night of the murder? the only person who could answer that was keith himself. >> he was very adamant about taking the stand. >> he wanted to talk the jury? >> he did. >> what would he say, and with the jury believe him? it was roll the dice time. >> coming up, keith's eyebrow raising alibi. >> i was embarrassed and ashamed of what i was doing the night my wife died. >> and what keith reveal to us. >> it's one of told everybody when they heard the story, they're not going to believe it. >> why even a jury could not in this case. when dateline continues.

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the prosecutor laid out his case against keith griffith. now, the accused murderer was insisting on taking the stand in his own defense. and he had a bombshell to reveal. here's dennis murphy, with the conclusion of, consumed. >> keith griffith was about to take the stand and explain the most damning piece of evidence against him. hotel security footage that put him off the grid for more than

six and a half hours the night his wife, julie, was murdered. but if he wasn't perpetrating the crime during that time, then where was he? >> tell us your name please, sir. >> keith wayne griffith. >> keith's explanation came with an embarrassing secret. his lawyer argued that ever since becoming a traveling salesman, keith had struggled with an addiction to sex. >> keith, until you got on the road, several years ago, did you have this kind of sexual addiction? >> no, sir. >> and the night julie was murdered, he said he spent those hours out prowling for women. after he left the hotel, he changed his clothes into his

man perusing outfit. >> i didn't like people to -- >> with your arousing? >> he says he went to a massage parlor, bar and a couple of strip clubs, but try, as you might, he never found a hook up. >> i was trying to pick somebody up and there wasn't anybody available or interested, or whatever have you. >> after last call, he said he went down to the river to watch the boats, before returning to the hotel to catch some shut eye. >> as for why he led to the police -- >> i was embarrassed in ashamed of what i was doing the night when my wife died. >> you tell your wife? >> no, sir, i did not. i love my wife. >> did you -- >> know, sir. >> did you kill those dogs? >> know, i love those odds. >> when the case went to the jury, keith's friend, craig bradley, they did know which way the jury would fall. >> i didn't know if you get acquitted, but i didn't think he'd get convicted. i really felt like it would be a hung jury. >> it turns out, he was right. after six hours of deliberation, the jury was dead lined. >> we were going to declare a mistrial at this time. >> keith would sit in jail for another year, as he awaited a second trial. a long time for his family to process the story he told on the stand.

>> he left to go to a bar, to go cruising, or something, and then he goes and sits on the river front. like, he's never done it before in his entire life. >> so when he stepped down, you thought, if either do this thing? >> yeah. i deftly wasn't saying it out loud, and i wasn't ready to accept it, but i definitely was moving in the direction -- the only thing that makes sense at this point, is that he committed the crime. >> after months of wrestling with his thoughts, zach decided it was time to send his dad a letter. >> i put in the letter my opinion was that you did it. you know, you took away the last chance that i had at rebuilding relationship with my mom. you know, you're no longer allowed to contact me. i don't want you to ask about me to anyone. >> wow. to your dad, you were dead to me. >> exactly. >> his brother's wife, ali, had started to feel that

about keith too. >> it seemed like he was fabricating everything that came out of his mouth. >> but there was a split in the family. despite doubts of his own, her husband, the one closest to his father, was still a supporter. >> whatever issues my mom and dad would have, i could not believe that my dad would take my kids away from their nana. >> then, a few months before keith's retrial, detective carter's phone rang. there was news from the jail. an inmate had some information about keith, and it was as eery as it was chilling. the detective in the bull's-eye. >> keith had come forward to him, wanting to have me killed. >> to put it on you? orchestrating your death. >> yes. he drawn a map of what he believed to be my residents, suggesting the caliber of weapon to kill me. the informant specifically asked, would if my family was

present. his response was one word, that was tragedy. >> wow. that does make the hair on her neck standup. >> it does. >> that wouldn't look good to a jury. the development brought aaron to a tipping point. >> where you no longer wavering at this point? did you come down on the side of, oh, my god, my father killed my mother. >> yeah. >> now, erin to road is that a leather. if he was guilty -- >> it's time. it's time to man up and do what you should've done two years ago. >> keith's defense attorney went to the prosecutor to hammer out a plea deal. they agreed on 30 years in prison for the murder and for soliciting the hit. moments later, keith was standing in a paducah courtroom, speaking the words his family and friends never, in 1 million years, thought that hear him say. yes, he murdered julie. >> no excuse for what i did. and i can't take it back. she was my best friend, and i don't know what happened to me. but i did it, and there's nothing i could do about it. >> temple bradley who worked

near the courthouse was there. >> my heart is breaking at the person that i have put wholeheartedly -- for two years. he's lied to my face. >> you know, i just can't believe we've been deceived in that way. we were there for him the whole time. >> for keith's family and friends, there are so many questions. but one seems to tower above all the others. >> i want to know why. i want to know how you go from a loving husband and father and grandfather to driving all that way, killing your wife, and then covering it up and then lying to your family for so long. knowing that we had everybody doubting us, and we still defended him. it's disgusting. he's a monster. >> all i can tell you is that i had a lot of bad thoughts, wrong thoughts, mistakes. >> we sat down with keith, hoping for answers. as many times as we asked him why this all happened --

i really can't tell you -- >> we never did get a satisfying response. >> this isn't some kind of delayed midlife crisis here? >> no. >> were you trying to be with diana or someone like her? >> no. >> to have a final left -- >> new house. >> julie and i were happy. >> do you see how perplexing it is to hear this. >> i know. >> it's absolutely confounding. >> that's what i've told everybody. when they hear the story, they're not gonna believe it. i have a hard time believing that it would i did. >> and one thing he didn't do, how about a divorce? >> never crossed my mind. >> keith now says, the remorse began the moment he pulled out of his driveway. >> trying to get out of the subdivision, crying --, regretting would have done. i probably drove 100 miles an hour all the way back, hoping to get caught. >> as for the future, keith

says he is prepared to die in prison. >> i don't have anything to look for. except maybe forgiveness. >> from who? >> for my boys. >> that's why you're talking today? >> exactly. yes. >> well, it's between you and them. i'll tell you my take on it, you got some distance make up. >> i know i do. i've got a lot of makeup. >> of the countless things keith school from his family, resilience was not one of them. aaron and zach are closer than they've been in years. and now they know what's happened to their mother, they say that they can finally mourn her passing. and focus on keeping her spirit alive for those two little granddaughters, who were the center of her universe. >> my oldest daughter will remember. she talks about almost every day. we have pictures of her in her room. as mangoes gets older, will teller of the nascar nana story, about when she was born and never let her memory die. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm craig melvin. thank yofo