tells him to forgive. it is very hard. >> i haven't forgiven him for what he has done. that's a hard thing to do. i know he has, but if he could ever admit that he did it, then i might be able to forgive him. but i can't forgive him, i can't forget. >> how have you been able to forgive him? >> i know that everybody is not perfect. i don't know. to me, if i hold a grudge like that, it's gonna eat me up more than it will heat him up. i just had to let it go. put it in god's hands. let it go. i miss my daughter every day. not a day goes by that i don't think about her. that is for sure. i know i will see her again some day. it's what keeps me going. t keeps me going onal to so many people in aspen. >> this was personal to so many

people. in aspen. we had a brutal murder in a small town. that house has the story to tell. are we going to be able to figure out what that story is? >> it's the playground of snow, and gold. and she was at its heart. beautiful, privileged. magnetic. >> whether it was a taxi driver or her movie star friends. she had a very genuine connection with people. >> but what happened one night in her secluded chalet sent shivers through this glamorous ski town. >> oh my god. no. >> i was going into shock. hyperventilating. >> murder in her sleep. >> it was a crime of rage. >> where would investigators start? an ex-boyfriend? >> there were some stories about a jilted lover. >> her new tenants? >> they were a couple that had been pushed over the edge. >> her old friend? >> [inaudible]

>> there is no way that she saw what she said she saw. >> the real killer would stun them all. >> took my world and just flip it upside down. >> we were all wrong! everybody was wrong in this case. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> [inaudible] oh my god. >> a cold night. february 2014. 9-1-1 colors can also be hysterical. this one was all but in comprehensible. >> i thought my's friend in the closet. she is dead. >> but then, the sort of thing does not happen to people like the one now lying dead in the closet. >> she is dead! [inaudible] >> and certainly not in this zip code.

>> you don't see many homicides here. >> but there are moments where no person is safe. no person. not this victim. not her securely pampered chalet in the snow. >> there are no words for it. when a childhood friend ties. >> yes, and nancy? life of the party. confident in bellhops and billionaires. who would want to harm her? and why? aspen, colorado. the tiny municipal airport here tells a story. in the long line of private jets parked and waiting for their well heeled owners to come down from the mountainside chalets. their beginner castles. as the late nancy used to call it. half playfully, of course. these were her friends. as where the passing tourists and ski bums. and bus boys. and just about everybody.

mary met nancy when they were both teenagers. >> you cannot come to this town without meeting nancy. >> come on really? >> everybody met her at one point or another. i have never known another person like her. as joyful and a outsized personality and all of that that she was. she had a very deep and soulful connection to the world. >> some special sauce in nancy. and when she smiled? there were just pure radiance. >> it was just beaming. >> billy was closer to nancy than anybody. almost like a brother. >> it was like she had a secret and she wanted to share it with you. and that secret was let's all lighten up and have fun and enjoy life and be grateful. >> nancy had reason to be grateful. she was born into a legendary aspen fan family led by local royalty.

her father made a fortune when he turned his ranch into the ski resort. and her mother betty? was a world war ii pilot who in later years flew a helicopter. parked it in her driveway. and nancy? stories about nancy would fill a book. like the one about how she met jack nicholson. >> a convertible pulled up and asked them directly questions. and nancy said i will take you there. but i want to ride in that nice car of yours. and next thing you know, she and jack are best friends. >> nancy could and did live anyway that she wanted. and loud! >> many many times, when i thought we were gonna have a normal day. she would say let's go to saint parts. or let's go to hawaii. or let's go somewhere. and i would go okay. >> but, her relationship with the impulsive and gregarious nancy came with a parties. her business and your stuff was her stuff.

sometimes she expected her friends to give her the stuff that she wanted. >> it was quite a job to love nancy. >> so, after what happened to her. flies on a carcass. the tabloids feasted on the gossip and half truths that flew around town. she was a spoiled, while child. jack nicholson's party girl. hunter s. thompson's drinking buddy. an incurable flirt. once engaged to michael douglas. all very breathless. the stories about the quote, aspen socialite. and insulting, set her friends. it did it paint her character accurately at all. some people collect famous people as friends. and it's important to them to be able to talk about them. >> definitely not her. >> no? >> she had a lot of famous friends. she had a lot of friends who are not favors. she treated everyone the same way. she had a very genuine connection with people. >> she didn't have the entitlements that made us

little rich kid. she had the entitlement that every day of life was precious. and should be live to the fullest. >> nancy was a traveling philanthropist. a devoted environmentalist. she had a daughter too, julianna. born when nancy was 29. and sometimes she took her on the way with her when she traveled. but sometimes she didn't. >> nancy had a lot of very close friends and people who loved julianna, and we all raised the children together. >> but usual? certainly. but. >> she just truly deeply love julianna and did feel that this was her greatest role of her life. was to be a mother. >> the thing is, nancy trusted people. even with the care of her own daughter. with her house, with her money. like the teller that she happened to meet in the local bank. >> she loved people, all kinds. it didn't matter who you are.

>> kathy carpenter was that teller. and one day in 2013, out of the blue, nancy asked her to lunch. kathy accepted. and learned firsthand another of nancy's hallmark traits. >> she was sometimes brutally honest. >> no edit button? >> no edit button. i like that. yes. no edit button. she actually when i first met her told me that i was very fat. >> what a thing to say to somebody when you first meet them! hi, be my friend, your fast! >> yeah. your beautiful but your fat! >> so, she was blunt. undiplomatic. but, irresistible. by the time lunch was over, nancy and kathy were fast friends. that's how nancy was. like when she read plans to leave town for the winter. she decided to rent her house to a retired doctor and his horticultural as wife. total strangers. who she befriended in a heartbeat. actually invited them to move in a month early.

so she and dr. trey and his wife, who also happen to be named nancy. they all live together like roommates. >> she said i'm going to take you under my wing, and have my friends. and i know a lot of people around here. >> but now, in february 2014. at just 57. nancy was gone. murdered! apparently in her own bed. while the grave was still very fresh, much of aspen crowded into the storied, hotel drone. for our memorial, that was more like a goodbye party. >> i remember when she died, we need to celebrate her life. that's what she would've wanted. because her life was a celebration. >> except one person. notably absent from the overflow crowd wasn't celebrating. but certainly could hear the music and laughter that burst out of the hotel windows that night and drifted down the street. , and into a particular cell. in the county jail.

>> coming up! >> when i open that door. that odor was so overwhelmingly. it hit me in the face. i looked down. >> what had happened to nancy? the awful discovery that launch this aspen mystery. >> oh my god! no! [crying] >> that house has this story to tell. are we going to be able to figure out what that story is? >> when dateline continues! c butter... ...this is not your grandpa's crabfest... ...unless grandpa's got flavor. dayumm! crabfest is here for a limited time. welcome to fun dining. trelegy for copd. ♪birds flyin' high, you know how i feel.♪ ♪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.

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>> did you ever think of leaving her? i know she was away a lot. >> she brought it up all the time. she told me. because aspen has changed so much, that's not sleepy anymore, there's traffic. >> with her daughter julianna, grown and out of the house by then. nancy at the peak of ski season had no reason for winter in aspen. which is why she rented her house to the retired doctor and the wife from denver. well she sipped her champagne in warmer climate, this year australia. so it was a surprise when this february she notified her friends that she was coming home early. she arrived in aspen saturday, the 22nd of february. kathy carepenter picked her up at the airport. >> i was with her that evening. i got her back, to get organized. >> how is it to have her back? >> it was wonderful. fun. she shared a lot of her video clips that she took on her trip. >> did you say over the weekend? >> i did. she asked me if i would say with her. so i did.

>> on monday morning, february 24th, she got up early and left for work. leaving nancy and her dog at the house. knowing that he would need peace and quiet to get over her jet lag. she put a note in the front door. asking visitors to leave nancy alone. >> she did not want to be disturbed. she never wanted to be disturbed when she slept. you do not call her, you do not wake her. she always slept with her earplugs and her eye mask. everything shot. close the door. and do not disturb! >> billy also left nancy alone. but felt much better knowing she was home. >> i worried about her constantly when she was away from aspen. but when she returned to aspen, i did not worry about her. i would relax. i sent her an email and there was a photo of my four-year-old son. we're so glad your home. because when your home, we don't worry about you.

everything is good. >> but billy did not hear back. not a word. and then on wednesday, the people who have been renting nancy's house called kathy. they moved out quickly on nancy's return. had been going back and forth to the house all week clearing out the last of the stuff. and they found it odd that they had not seen nancy. not once. >> so, this is monday, tuesday, and then wednesday. and you still haven't seen her? >> still had not seen her. >> but they did see nancy's dog, gabe. >> and then i went and called kathy. and said this dog has been alone for two days and it is clear that she has not been back. >> i was concerned because normally that is not nancy's, she would call me and asked me to pick the dog up. >> so after work kathy drove up to nancy's place in the mountain to check on her friend. >> what was it like when you went inside the house? >> i called her name out and she said that she was happy to see me.

>> but nancy wasn't there. kathy checked her bedroom. >> stuff that was there that i had unpacked. it was clear, cleaned up. and when i turned, went to the closet. it was locked. >> was it usually locked? >> no. not with nancy home. >> kathy knew that when nancy rented her house, she kept her personal belongings locked in a closet in the master bedroom. but she and kathy had unlocked it when she got home. >> at that point i was just, not feeling well. something was not right. >> kathy, who often house sat for nancy had a spare key. but it was back at her house. so she went home, got lucky, returned. open the closet door. >> when i open that door. that order was so overwhelming. it hit me in the face. and i looked down and, i could see the shape. >> a shape hidden under a pile of blankets and covers. but with one glimpse, kathy just knew, she said. it was nancy.

>> hard to get that image out of your mind? >> it is. [crying] >> stuck there? >> it is. >> kathy fled the house, got into her car, called 9-1-1. >> oh my god! no! >> it's pretty desolate up there. so i jumped in a car and i thought, i will just drive up the hill. get to the police. [crying] >> her hysterics made it very hard for the dispatcher to comprehend exactly what was going on. >> can you get near your friend? >> no. no, i can't. >> then finally, understanding. the dispatcher told kathy to pull over. wait for the first responders. >> i want you to pull over and put your flashers on. >> okay. >> when the police arrived,

they, i stepped out of the vehicle. i was going into shock. hyperventilating. >> dash cam video shows a distraught kathy as she was taken to the hospital. then sheriff's deputies arrived on buttermilk mountain. to look in that room. and confront the mystery. >> that house, and the room in particular has the story to tell. and are we going to be able to figure out what that story is? >> coming up! >> she had to die from blunt force trauma to the head. and it seems that she had several. >> any defensive wounds? >> no. >> so it appeared to come out of the blue for her? >> yes. it did appear to be a premeditated crime that occurred while she was sleeping. >> more than one suspect. and maybe more than one keller. >> hard to do that alone? >> it is awkward. in a difficult to move a body. >> when dateline continues!

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[music playing] lisa miller, then the da's investigator for the county investigator for the county that includes aspirin, is a tall grange a woman with an impish grin that looks like she's hiding a secret. the investigator was and in an arm failure in from -- murder in aspen? it just does not happen. or hadn't at least and more? than a decade. >> i was a little surprised -- how that we had a murder in aspen. when the >> and called to a person's sum group home like nancy fister flew through broward that was companies

especially so. and other >> correct. shoes to me she >> and yet here she was, in looks this interaction has had don't nancy's living room looking at know the window. if >> the juxtaposition of if >> the juxtaposition of looking really working on the case the sa miller: miss pfister had been bound with extension cord. she had multiple plastic bags over her head that had been bound and secured tightly. and then another large one of the tear-resistant, darker-colored bags over her body also. keith morrison: with blankets wrapped all around that. investigator miller could clearly see that the killer, whoever it was, had gone to a lot of trouble to hide what he or she had done.

but there was no hiding now. when the crime scene personnel started taking a look, they flipped the mattress and found blood on the bottom part of the mattress. keith morrison: so it was clear, nancy was killed on the bed, dragged to the closet, stashed there, wrapped up like a mummy. then whoever did it took the extra trouble to flip the mattress in an effort to hide the soaked-in pool of blood. andrea bryan was the deputy district attorney and started working on the case the night nancy's body was found. we learned that she had died from blunt force trauma night the body was found. >> we know that she had to die from blunt force trauma to the head. several blows to the head. >> any defensive wounds? >> no. so >> it appeared to come out of the blue for her? >> it did appear to be yes, a premeditated crime that occurred while she was sleeping. it >> it looked like it had happened monday morning.

and then the body in the closet undiscovered until wednesday evening. the investigators then can compiling a list of suspects. a long list. >> none of us really lived like nancy. so open. i mean she was totally open to strangers. >> that openness made nancy friends wherever she went. but when nancy open herself up, people didn't always like what came out. >> say whatever she thought. >> say what she thought. >> did she realize that maybe she was neck and negative impression when she did that? >> well. she definitely has people of. there was no doubt about that. many times i could just see peoples steam coming out of their ears. and they're thinking, nobody's ever talk to me like that. but her thinking was, someone should have a long time ago. >> no question that she rubbed some people the wrong way. spoke her mind a bit too often, maybe. treated friends a little like her personal servants, sometimes. like kathy for example. >> did she treat you more like a friend? or like she was a boss?

>> friends, and it's depending on the day. and someday, she would boss me around. and i would express how i felt. and she always apologized. >> and her friends, forgave. because they loved nancy for who she was. and investigators now had to figure out if someone in nancy 's life had stopped loving her. or if she had simply opened herself up to the wrong person. >> we're working diligently at that point to follow up on others that were coming in. >> like? >> the leads of other people in the community that may have had some resentment towards nancy. >> like perhaps a jilted lover. one of them may have harbored some hidden rage. her friends knew that the irreplaceable nancy was also a woman who fell in and out of love. often. >> usually nancy is having affairs, or romances. they didn't last a long time. because there were some stories

about a jilted lover somewhere. somebody i didn't know. so when i heard that, i was like, there's crazy people out there. let's follow it up. because you never know. it could be, you know. >> but now. no actual jilted lovers and nancy's past. just rumor, and unfounded innuendo. and besides. after taking in the bedroom crime scene. investigators decided that they were not looking for a killer. >> hard to do that alone. carry a body around like that? flip a queen size mattress? >> the mattress is doable. but it would be awkward for a single person to flip the mattress on their own. and, they use the term deadweight for a reason. it is awkward. and difficult to move a body. >> but it seemed like a pretty clear indication of more than

one person? >> yes. that was our conclusion. >> something else. since there was no sign of forced entry, her killer, or killers, as they now believed, must have had a husky. now, who might that be? good coming up! >> the new renters. the doctor and his wife. >> it just seemed perfect. >> she really like these people. they had really great karma. >> what did they see? when dateline continues! for years, i thought my t.e.d. was beyond help... but then i asked my doctor about tepezza. (vo) tepezza is the only medicine that treats t.e.d. at the source not just the symptoms. in a clinical study more than 8 out of 10 patients taking tepezza had less eye bulging. tepezza is an infusion. patients taking tepezza may have infusion reactions. tell your doctor right away if you experience high blood pressure, fast heartbeat, shortness of breath or muscle pain. before getting tepezza,

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watching some breaking news this hour. coming out of baltimore, maryland. according to police there on the scene of a mass shooting that happened overnight, in the city's brooklyn holmes neighborhood. at least 11 people have been taken to an area hospital. no other information is available at this time. keep you updated with the latest as it becomes available. we are also watching this, violence still erupting across france. as the funeral was held for the teenage boys shot and killed for police earlier this week.

there is sparking unrest throughout the country, in the road. they're more than 900 people were arrested. for now, back to dateline! were arrested. >> the investigation was, literally, closer to home now. that is to say that the detectives investigating the murder of nancy began looking at anybody who had access without permission, to nancy ncyeah -- but they had to start somewhere. mr. styler's an anesthesiologist. mrs. styler, from all accounts, was an intelligent woman herself. keith morrison: trey and nancy met in the anesthesiology department at a denver hospital, he, a resident, and she, an instructor. nancy styler: i heard him go up to a woman on a gurney and say, hello, i'm dr. styler. i'll take care of you as though i were taking care of my mother, and i love my mother.

keith morrison: the gentle doctor chaired his anesthesiology department by the time he retired. they lived in an upscale area of denver. their shared hobby was growing the gasp-inducing giant victoria waterlily. their unusual level of success at that or skill brought them world renown within the rarefied world of specialized botany. in fact, the two of you lived kind of a charmed existence for quite a while. we did. had 25 years of a life that i used to say i would never trade with anyone. keith morrison: but right around the year 2000, it all began to fall apart. trey got sick and had to quit practicing medicine. his attempt to start a medical support business failed. he sued his medical group and lost. he sued the lawyer who took his life savings and got nothing. he had to sell his house. he moved with nancy into a rental, where they were poisoned, said nancy, and very nearly

fatally by carbon monoxide. again, they tried to sue but were too broke to hire an attorney. and he was beside himself. suicidal. just, you know, i can't believe what i did to the family, losing all this income. and i said, you know, we can do this. and so i thought of aspen, that we loved aspen. keith morrison: aspen, fresh mountain air, a fresh start. they could open a spa, they decided. and that's when nancy styler picked up the phone to answer another nancy's real estate ad in the local newspaper, nancy pfister's ad. she said, oh, excuse me, i was just watering my greenhouse. i said, you know, i would love to have a greenhouse. and so we went up there, and it just seemed perfect. keith morrison: seemed perfect to nancy pfister too. her share of the family fortune was doled out in regular but limited allowances. and by renting her multimillion dollar house

with the billion dollar views, she would have extra cash for her upcoming trip to australia. so no formal lease, just a handshake. the rent was $4,000 a month. it was a lot of money, but not for aspen. her upcoming trip to australia. so, no formal lease, just a handshake. the rent was $4,000 a month. >> it was a lot of money but not for aspen. >> nancy asked her good friend kathy to help the renters take care of her dog while she was away. collect the rent, and be her general go-between. >> she said, i like these people. she said that they felt that they had really great karma. >> and that's part of the reason why she invited them to move in, a full month before she left. but it wasn't long before they discovered that living with nancy was not quite like they thought it might be. >> after the first couple of days, she treated me like a slave. like, get my cigarettes. get this. get my drink. and, i was not used to be so disrespected. >> treated you like a slave? >> a slave.

it was. not pretty. >> you know, i said, that's how nancy is. don't take a personal. she comes off this way. and, she really has a good heart. >> anyway, nancy left soon allow for australia. but then, the sailors discovered the house wasn't so perfect afterwards. >> when i went to clean up the master bedroom and bathroom. i realize that the hot water was rusty. the dishwasher did not work. the snow did not work. >> once again, the styler's sought redress. they decided to withhold rent until those things were fixed. nancy, half a world away, was not happy. >> what did she say? >> that she felt that these people were cons. squatters. and she wanted them out. >> kathy was caught in the middle. she arranged the repairs. the styler paid the money that

they owed. gave her $6,000 in cash, that she put in a safety deposit box for nancy. but the relationship between landlord in tenets? had soured to the point that no amount of money could preserve it. >> at that point, the styler said i do not want to stay. we will be out february 22nd. >> how did nancy feel about that? >> she was fine with it. she wanted them out. >> unable to find new tenants now, nancy was faced with doing exactly what she hoped to avoid when she went to australia. spending peak ski season in aspen. she got home february 27th. the very day that the sailor said they would be done moving their stuff out. the problem was? they were not. >> she was not happy. she had a few choice words but, she accepted it. she was tired, dred liked, she wanted to come home and see her dog. >> they ended up at a motel in -- a world away.

they stopped around the house again, a few times, together things. saw the dog, but not nancy. and made the first alarming call to kathy that something seemed wrong. and when kathy found the body. knowing better than anyone about the tension between the stylus and nancy. she made sure to include investigators. >> she had some people living there and she really, she really pissed them off. and. um. she made threats to them about owing money. >> so time for investigators to visit the motel. and meet them. coming up! >> i said, i haven't done anything wrong. >> did nancy admit that she had said, i'd like to killer? >> she made some statements that certainly could be consistent with that. >> from motel room, to interrogation room. investigators were fishing. >> you did this man. you did it.

>> what would they catch? when dateline continues! and last for weeks. it can make your workday feel impossible. the virus that causes shingles is likely already inside of you. 50 years or older? ask your doctor about shingles. [ music playing ] when we first arrived at st. jude, it was just claire and i. she was still recovering from her brain surgery. and side effects of that surgery meant that she had to relearn how to walk and how to speak. ♪♪ [ male announcer ] you can join the battle to save lives by supporting st. jude children's research hospital. two months after we arrived, my three-year-old came to visit, and claire lit up. she was quiet before. and i thought it was just because cancer's hard, but she was really missing her siblings, and i didn't realize how much. all right, young lady.

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just down the highway from aspen. you can see the same, mountain spring same air. but when tray and nancy checked into the hotel, they are entering a world far beneath the rarefied heights of nancy's mountainside retreat. no billionaire starter castles here.

this is where many of the people who work in aspen, live. and here, they thought they were done with nancy. moving on. and then there was a knock at the door. 5:30 am. it was the sheriff's deputies. they had questions, they said. about a dead body. >> and i said, what dead body? and he wouldn't tell me. who died? wouldn't say a word. >> the deputies escorted them to the back seats of separate cars. and said not a word as they drove down to the station. nancy listen to the chatter on the radio. >> i heard, her sister's names being mentioned on the police radio. nancy sisters names. and i thought, maybe it's something to do with nancy. >> at the sheriff's office, deputies put nancy entry into different interview rooms. >> and he had read me my miranda rights before.

attorney. i haven't done anything wrong. i'll be happy to answer questions. >> which were, at least to begin with, pretty basic. >> where did you entrée coming from? >> we are from denver. we met at the university of colorado medical school. >> they asked me if i knew any of the men that she had dated. if i knew anybody who would want her dead. >> she didn't think it would be that sort of thing at all, said nancy. she told the detective she was pretty sure she knew exactly what happened to nancy. >> you're gonna find the top supports. you're gonna find out that she committed suicide. i was absolutely sure that that is what happened. >> but of course, investigators knew that nancy did not die by suicide. they knew somebody beat her to death. attacked her as she slapped. and they know all about the rental arrangement that started well, and went to hell. and about the styler's rapid fall from success.

to ruin nation. >> their financial situation was dire. and they were trying to upon a very nice ring. >> it was very desperate? >> it was very desperate. >> they also knew, from kathy, how angry nancy was at nancy fister. >> what kind of things that she say? >> i hate that woman. nancy styler was upset. >> i could kill her? >> she did say that. i could just kill that woman. >> did nancy styler admits that she had threatened the other nancy? did she say, i would like to kill her? >> she was pretty open about her feelings for nancy and she made some statements that were certainly consistent with that. >> i said, you know, i would like to ring her neck. because she is such a, a drunk. and making me so crazy.

>> nancy stylers personal opinion of nancy fister. had soured to such a degree that she would not speak ill of the dead. whether true or not. >> there is not one person who said a nice thing about her. not one person. >> investigators put the doctor in a separate room. they dressed him in an orange jumpsuit, even though he was not under arrest. and they asked a few softball questions. >> do you like william, or do you once tray? >> frankly. >> it wasn't long before the tone changed. and the accusations began. >> why did you go in there and hurt nancy? maybe you don't even know, but i know it's true. i know it's true. >> the sheriff himself, a close friend to the late nancy. try to get straight to admit that in a desperate rage, he killed nancy. >> you did this man. you did it. and the quicker you start saying that, the better it's going to be. >> but trey insisted, they were going after the wrong guy. he was innocent. >> how can you know it's true

when it's not true? >> over and over, trace stress and demonstrated how his 65 year old body, ravaged by disease. was far too frail to have done what was done to nancy. >> as you can see, it'd be a formidable adversary in a fight. >> but, it had already dawned on detectives. the more tray claim to be physically and capable. >> my condition is that, i don't think i could beat up ahead. >> the worse it looked for his wife. >> we definitely had to look at the facts that he had assistance potentially. >> my wife does everything. i'm disabled. i can't do anything. >> trey still insisted, took a polygraph. maybe he should not have. >> he fails his polygraph? >> yes. he did fail his polygraph. >> you're smiling? failed it badly or what? >> my understanding from the calligrapher, that tested it, he felt it badly. >> not admissible in court. but an investigative tool, they

say. did not look good for the styler. but, desperation and anger do not by themself of murder case make. and to make things a little extra difficult, they knew that they couldn't count on dna on the scene to link them to the crime. >> it could easily be explained because of where they were living. they were staying in that bedroom. >> the investigators drove the styler's back to their motel. and went on with the hard work of a murder investigation. they would have to find a piece of good, solid evidence. to tie someone, maybe the styler's to the crime. it didn't look so far as if something like that existed. and then? >> occasionally, something fortuitous happens to law enforcement. >> how is that old saying going? one man's trash, is another man's treasure. coming up! >> this broke the case. >> it seemed like magic. a grab bag of evidence suddenly

at their feet. what was this stuff? and where did it come from? when dateline continues! ♪ breeze driftin' on... ♪ [coughing] ♪ ...by, you know how i feel. ♪ if you're tired of staring down your copd,... ♪ it's a new dawn, ♪ ♪ it's a new day... ♪ ...stop settling. ♪ ...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. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. take a stand, and start a new day with trelegy.

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ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy, something was wrong with the equation, didn't add up. here in aspen in the house on buttermilk mountain, equation. it did not add up. here in aspen, on the house on the mountain. the crime scene around nancy's body spoke. it told a story. and they said that at least two able-bodied people committed the murder. how else were they have the mattress have been flipped? and nancy's body get dragged across the room and into the closet. and get packaged in bags, and wrapped up in blankets? and yet there suspects, nancy's former tenants? were not able bodied spring chickens. anything but athletic. and besides, there was zero physical evidence to tie either one of them to the crime. >> i think we were faced with the reality that this was

always going to be a circumstantial case. >> so, that bedroom was keeping it secrets. and likely, keeping themselves. except for one total fluke. a couple of days later. one of those little gifts that chance, or faith, or something. just drops out of frustrated investigators feet. all tied up with a neat little bow. >> what have you got here? this is not just a standard trash can. >> no. this is breaking the case. >> how weirdly fluky was this? the town of basalt, who knew had a rule? that you can't put personal garbage in public trash cans. and a city worker, a little extra diligent. happen to be poking around in the trash, just randomly checking for illegal garbage disposal. >> tell me what this guy did? and how he got the he came across this. >> he pulled the trash at this location, and was going to check it to see if there was

any, if something stood out about it. >> he actually does this stuff? >> yeah. >> opens the bag? >> thank goodness he open the bag. he looks inside, and he sees a prescription pill bottles. and what was special about the prescription pill bottle is that it had nancy's name on it. >> of course the city worker recognize the name. aspen, and the towns around, it were buzzing with news about nancy's murder. >> in addition to the pill bottle, after which he phoned the police. what did you guys find in that bag? >> in addition to the pill bottle. the big one was a hammer. a bloody hammer. >> a bloody hammer? found in the same trash as medication belonging to nancy? that simply could not be a coincidence. police were 99% sure that they had stumbled on the murder weapon.

they sent it to the crime lab to be tested asap. but, the trash bag was not done divulging its investigative gifts. >> another thing that we found but was concerning to us. was the vehicle registration for the jaguar. >> even more, the trash can was located just behind the motel where the stylus were staying. that was miles away from nancy 's house. a little gift, and actually a big fat juicy gift. dropped right into investigators laps. and it, no question, link them to the climb. >> i cannot think of any other time, any other case that you heard about. where such obvious evidence is just there. >> thrown out. carelessly. so close to where the suspects are saying? yeah. >> deputies hovered around the motel to keep an eye on them. to make sure that they did not do a disappearing act.

whiel they, and the da, waited for the lab to test the hammer. and then? three days later. another insanely improbable discovery. >> the key was found on the ground. it was right before the trash can. >> right there, just a few feet from the door of the stylus motel room. was the owner's key to the closet in which nancy's body was found. lying around as if they intended to throw it in the trash. and dropped it by mistake. >> just lying on the ground? >> on the ground. on the lighter portion of the concrete is where it was found. >> and then on the very same day, as to punctuate the whole strange affair. the dna results came back. and? >> nancy's dna was on the hammer. so we were able to, pretty clearly say that that was the murder weapon. >> the murder weapon, the key, and the motive. pretty much everything that they needed to pin the crime on them. it was march 3rd, 2014. not even a week since nancy's body was found. >> they knocked on the door, i stepped out of the door and

they said we are arresting year for murder one. slap the cuffs on me and took me away. and they led my husband out in my bathrobe. >> what is it like for a woman who led a very successful life. who traveled around doing lectures on victoria lilies, two societies of like-minded horticultural us. >> to be in jail? >> yeah. for murder. >> it was a shock. >> it was a shock for some of nancy's friends to. like mary. the stylers? really? >> it was just a big surprise, and not knowing anything about these people. it just seemed outrageous. why you would do something like that. >> but kathy, who pointed her suspicious finger at the styler 's right after the murder, practically jumped for joy. >> when i heard that, i was joyful that they found the person who had murdered nancy. and, i just felt that there was justice.

>> and swift justice as that. what a relief to all those souls that nancy collected. who loved her like family. >> i was relieved that, you know, this is done. >> but, with one of the biggest crimes of aspirin would be far saw that fast? with so little drama? of course not. >> it looked like a set up to you? >> it looked like a setup. it did look like a setup. >> coming up! rethinking the case. something, does not add up. >> oh my god! >> bizarre is the only way i could characterize the 9-1-1 call. >> the call now becomes a clue. >> she is dead! full of blood! >> there is no way she saw what she said she saw. >> when dateline continues! ...unless grandpa's got flavor. dayumm! crabfest is here for a limited time.

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the renters were led away in handcuffs. but was it too quick, too easy? it looked fishy to me. fishy? fishy. keith morrison: nancy styler's attorney, beth krulewitch. fishy how? in terms of you've got a very well-respected physician who's now being accused of murder. and it didn't-- it was inconceivable to me that he would have killed somebody. keith morrison: plus, the elderly man they led away wrapped in his wife's blue bathrobe looked far too frail and weak to bludgeon a woman to death, carry her body, wrap it up, flip a mattress. and then been stupid enough to take the murder weapon, some pill bottles with the victim's name on them, his vehicle registration and insurance, packaged it all up in one bag, and then put it in a dumpster that was close to the motel he was staying at. made zero sense to me.

keith morrison: it also made zero sense that trey's accomplice was his diminutive 62-year-old wife, nancy, even though she did actually say she could just kill that nancy pfister. but then, lots of people around town said similar things about the outspoken ms. pfister at some point or another, not meaning it literally. i could see where she could be sitting around with kathy carpenter and they could be commiserating about what nancy pfister did or didn't do, or what she had said, or the way they had been treated. and she could have said something like, gee, i'd like to kill her. but listen, that's not evidence of first degree murder. keith morrison: besides, nancy styler was more than open about it. nancy styler: we've all said that about someone at some other-- i'd like to kill 'em or something like that, but not ever thinking-- taking it that far. yes, i did say that. but no, i didn't kill her.

and if it wasn't nancy, couldn't have been trey either. because he was frail, yes, said, nancy, but also because he was never alone to do it. you were never without him. you were always together. yeah, i said we were always together. keith morrison: what did make sense, said attorney krulewitch, is that someone else killed nancy pfister and planted the evidence against the stylers in an attempt to frame them. the final piece of it was that the owner's closet key magically appears on the sidewalk near the stylers' motel room the day they get arrested. keith morrison: it was a thought that crossed investigators' minds as well. lisa miller: we would have been amiss had we not looked at the possibility that someone was setting these people up. keith morrison: and so even with the stylers in jail, charged with murder, investigators were still quietly looking for other suspects, for someone with motive and means to kill nancy and the foresight to frame the stylers, someone close to nancy,

someone nancy trusted, even loved, like the person who pointed the finger of blame right in the middle of that 911 call, kathy carpenter. keith morrison: kathy carpenter-- she said she was nancy pfister's dear friend, but investigators were hearing a different story. their relationship had been a roller coaster, so we knew that there had been this cycle of the ladies having a good relationship, and then things would go south and they would have a bad relationship for a period of time. keith morrison: and so with all that in mind, deputy da andrea bryan went back to that hysterical phone call from kathy to 911. what did you make of it? you know, i think bizarre is the only way i can characterize that 911 call, immediately identifying suspects.

it was not getting help for nancy pfister, it was, oh, you should be looking at these two people, immediately. so that was interesting. keith morrison: so it was. and just as interesting, what kathy told 911 about seeing nancy pfister's body. the fact that immediately the deceased is identified as nancy pfister would have been impossible to do. keith morrison: impossible, said investigator lisa miller, because nancy's body was completely covered, head to toe, when kathy saw it in the closet. we're looking at photos of the crime scene. and we knew there's no way she saw what she said she saw. keith morrison: there was more. kathy, of course, had keys to nancy's house, including a key to the closet, was the last person to admit seeing nancy alive, and when she left, pinned up that "do not disturb" sign on nancy's door, supposedly because her friend needed

to get over her jet lag. lisa miller: she ended up making a statement to another individual that nancy would be sleeping and resting for the next three days. and it was three days later the body was found. correct. keith morrison: and the day that closet key magically appeared so close to the stylers' motel room. kathy carpenter was known to be in the very same neighborhood, right around that time, meeting with her therapist. so next question, was kathy carpenter truly nancy's friend and helper or her murderer trying to pin the blame on someone else? coming up-- keith morrison: the interrogation, probing questions, puzzling actions-- lisa miller: there was no tears during the time that she was trying to portray herself as crying. keith morrison: --and perplexing memories.

--when "dateline" continues.

ski season in aspen is a time to see and be seen in crowded watering holes beneath carefully groomed world-class slopes. but in late winter 2014, attention was diverted from the fashionable pursuits. now the subject was nancy pfister's murder and also her free-wheeling life. and in death, her reputation, to the consternation of her closest friends, was gleefully amplified by some media outlets and not in a good way. why do we need to throw rocks at her just because she had too much fun really. keith morrison: billy and the others defended their remarkable departed friend and devoted their energy to plans for a special memorial event, which they decided would be a party, the sort of thing nancy would have loved. what did she mean to you personally? she meant duration and consistency.

she was the godmother of my children. and i was the godfather of juliana. sorry-- [inhales sharply] i'm trying. keith morrison: but while billy and the others worked through their grief, nancy's buddy, kathy carpenter, was at the pitkin county sheriff's office answering questions. we were still giving her the benefit of the doubt. she thought something was up. she had been worried about her friend. keith morrison: so was there an innocent explanation for why kathy seemed to see things she could not have seen, why she knew it was nancy's bloodied body that was in the closet, even though the first responders saw what looked like just a pile of blankets

when they arrived? could she have lifted up those blankets-- she could have. --and seen? she could have. and during the interviews, i specifically asked her, did you step into the closet, did you lift any of the blankets, did you touch, did you manipulate in any way. and her answers, repeatedly, were, no. she had not touched, she had not moved, she had not manipulated. keith morrison: and yet, at the same time, kathy gave specific details about the body. she tells me she immediately recognized her friend because of the blond hair and the length of that hair. how much hair did you see, i would ask ms. carpenter.

if you've seen the crime scene photographs of how that body was found and how that body was in the closet, she did not see that. keith morrison: the more kathy talked-- keith morrison: --the more suspicious the investigators became. lisa miller: she's describing, in the interviews, where the injuries were to the forehead. i went and i reviewed the autopsy photos. and she was exactly spot on to where she indicated the injury to the forehead. keith morrison: it wasn't just kathy's words, said investigator miller. it looked to her like kathy's grief was more act than real.

keith morrison: and a bad act, at that. there was no tears during the time that she was trying to portray herself as crying. some people will cry without tears, surely. i'm sure some people do. what can you tell from a thing like that? it's just always interesting when someone is going to such lengths to act like they're emotionally distraught and the body doesn't respond. keith morrison: but then she discovered what kathie did the day after she said she found nancy's body. she went to the bank where nancy had trusted kathy with access to her safety deposit box. and kathy took from that box the stylers' last rent payment, $6,000 in cash, and an heirloom ring nancy had inherited from her mother. within 24 hours-- actually, it was a little less than 24 hours-- of her friend being found by her,

she's going into that safety deposit box taking $6,000 and jewelry from it. keith morrison: so investigators now had an idea, fast gathering strength, that kathy carpenter was far more involved than she claimed to have been. she just made some very detailed descriptions of that body that she couldn't have made unless she had seen her before she was put in that closet, meaning right after she was actually murdered. did she provide a rational explanation for the reason-- for being able to do that? no. keith morrison: they brought kathy back, again and again, for questioning, five days, almost 20 hours of questioning. during one interrogation, detectives read back the transcript of the 911 call-- keith morrison: --threw her own words at her, the blood she reported seeing--

keith morrison: --and how she so quickly accused the stylers. keith morrison: and they told her they just knew she was lying. keith morrison: kathy carpenter, like trey styler, submitted to a polygraph test. but if he failed his-- kathy carpenter failed hers worse. keith morrison: so for detectives, the only question left was did kathy carpenter kill nancy and try to frame the stylers or were they all in it together.

keith morrison: coming up-- i don't think anyone wanted that to be found. keith morrison: --another turn in the case. this has been one of the more frightening experiences of my career. keith morrison: --when "dateline" continues. (bridget) with thyroid eye disease i hid from the camera. and i wanted to hide from the world. for years, i thought my t.e.d. was beyond help... but then i asked my doctor about tepezza. (vo) tepezza is the only medicine that treats t.e.d. at the source not just the symptoms. in a clinical study more than 8 out of 10 patients taking tepezza had less eye bulging. tepezza is an infusion. patients taking tepezza may have infusion reactions. tell your doctor right away if you experience high blood pressure, fast heartbeat, shortness of breath or muscle pain. before getting tepezza, tell your doctor if you have diabetes, ibd, or are pregnant, or planning to become pregnant.

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baltimore maryland, according to police there they are on the scene of a mass shooting that happened overnight in the city's brooklyn holmes neighborhood. at least 11 people were taken to an area hospital. police holding a press conference, we believe very shortly we will see live here on msnbc when it does happen. also, parts of the south dealing with extreme heat over the fourth of july weekend. temperatures hitting mid to high 90s, with humidity making it feel like over 110. forecasters, say a heat dome is hovering over that region. for, now back to dateline.

ack to dateline. keith morrison: hour after hour, kathy carpenter talked to the detectives investigating the murder of her friend, nancy pfister. keith morrison: she was alone with them. she could have asked for an attorney. she did not. she told the detective she didn't need a lawyer because she was innocent. but as kathy went on and on, those detectives became more and more sure she killed her friend nancy or helped at least. keith morrison: the question now, was kathy trying to frame the stylers. at first blush, it certainly looked that way. and yet, the more they thought about it, the more unlikely it seemed.

why? well, the trash bag containing so much incriminating evidence, for example, the one the diligent city worker just happened to stumble on-- i really think that this was actually pure luck. i don't think anyone wanted that to be found. i think, really, the simple explanation here is really the right explanation, which is that we had a great break in the case and thank goodness for that. keith morrison: the only conspiracy theory assistant da andrea bryan was buying was one that involved the stylers and kathy carpenter, all of them together committing the murder, the two women perhaps bonding over their shared frustration with nancy pfister's behaviors. it appears that they almost built, at times, a bit of a friendship around that mutual anger toward nancy pfister. keith morrison: and trey, pushed to his financial and emotional limits, was most likely the one to wield the hammer, reasoned the assistant da, while the women helped hide the body and clean up the bedroom.

but if that theory was right, something went wrong after the murder. the conspiracy did not hold. andrea bryan: when kathy carpenter realized the gravity of what she had gotten herself into, she got worried and worried that she would be fingered. keith morrison: so kathy struck first, the da's theory went, called 911, and fingered the stylers to deflect attention from herself. in the interrogation room, investigators had tried to get trey to turn on his wife or kathy. keith morrison: and they also tried to get kathy to flip on the stylers. keith morrison: but it didn't work.

keith morrison: on march 14, three weeks after nancy pfister was murdered, kathy carpenter, like the stylers before her, was charged with first degree murder and put in the county jail. the newest suspect arrested was katherine carpenter. keith morrison: billy clayton had been on the phone with kathy, just the day before, discussing nancy's memorial service. and i think i was supposed to get something for her to wear to the memorial. keith morrison: but now she was behind bars. seemed crazy, but in a town that could barely believe one of its own had been murdered, anything seemed possible now. i should have been surprised or shocked or something. but at that moment, i just-- i was like, who knows. anything could happen. i just-- i-- it didn't make any sense at all why anyone would kill her. keith morrison: and so, as billy and the others went on finalizing memorial plans, kathy,

a bit late, got a lawyer, greg greer. this has been one of the more frightening experiences of my career to represent a person who is so totally and completely innocent. keith morrison: as greer and the lawyers representing the stylers waded through the evidence, trying to sort out who did what, it became pretty clear, to them at least, that the truth about what happened in that bedroom on buttermilk mountain was still very much hidden. we were all wrong about what happened. i mean, everybody was wrong in this case. keith morrison: coming up-- wrong about what, or about whom? i started praying that the truth would be revealed. that's what i wanted is the truth to be revealed. keith morrison: when dateline continues. shingles. the rash can feel like an intense burning sensation and last for weeks. it can make your workday feel impossible.

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it was just where theshe would havent. wanted her last party, aspen's historic hotel jerome. and by their hundreds, locals crowded in out of the frigid march night, 2 and 1/2 weeks after the murder, to tell crazy stories and remember the amazing life of nancy pfister. there were so many people that they couldn't all fit in the jerome hotel ballroom. they went out the door, into the hallways. what do you say to a crowd like that? i just basically wanted to celebrate her life and her spirit of adventure. keith morrison: billy clayton got up too, said what was in his heart. i said that if you've known me over the last 40 years or so, , you know me because of nancy. when you see me, you think of nancy. she was a connector. that was her real main role, i think, in everyone's life. keith morrison: and when you looked

down there in that crowd, how were they reacting? a lot of tears, a lot of laughter, certain stories, and they were all just solidly there in that space at that moment. keith morrison: but at that very same moment, in a far different space, just down the street from the final hotel jerome, kathy carpenter wept in her cell at the pitkin county jail and listened. i could hear the music, the band, and i just-- i cried. i cried a lot. i wanted to be there. i should have been there. and it hurt. keith morrison: how could they think she had anything to do with it? there was some suggestion that you had a motive to harm nancy. absolutely not. what was my motive? there was no motive. a shared frustration with nancy styler about how

difficult she was to-- oh, heavens, no. no, not at all. keith morrison: nancy was her best friend, she said. i loved her. keith morrison: yeah. she was-- i love nancy pfister. keith morrison: that's why she sat through all those hours of interrogation without a lawyer, she said. she wanted to help them understand the truth. like, for example, how it wasn't at all suspicious that she knew right away it was nancy in that closet. you know, the odor just about knocked me over. and to me, it was very apparent that that wasn't just a pile of clothes in the closet. who else but nancy would be in that closet. so you weren't a complete idiot. you understood that it had to be nancy. right, who else would it be? keith morrison: and when she so quickly fingered the stylers, she said, it was just common sense. they were in the house. you knew that they were pretty mad at nancy. they were mad. they were upset with her. keith morrison: but what about those suspicious little details, like saying she saw blood on nancy's forehead

when nancy's forehead was completely covered up. keith morrison: that's easy to explain, said kathy. she never actually said that. they said that i saw her forehead. yes. i did not see her forehead. i saw blood on the headboard. keith morrison: headboard? in fact, crime scene techs did find blood on nancy pfister's headboard. but headboard is not the word that appears in the type transcript of the 911 call. greg greer: and on page three of that transcript, it says, "i saw blood on her forehead." keith morrison: kathy's attorney, greg greer. i go home and listen to the tape. and i hear headboard. but i listened to it, i bet, 10 times by myself before i told anybody else. keith morrison: sure enough, kathy in that 911 call, did actually say headboard, not forehead.

keith morrison: a transcription error. and though investigators said that made no real difference to them, kathy's attorney is sure the little error planted suspicion of kathy from the very beginning and started investigators off in an inaccurate and inappropriate direction. they used every technique in the book on her. and honestly, as i watched those interrogations, i started thinking, i might have confessed to doing something just to make it stop. keith morrison: and they told you you did it. yes. repeatedly? yes. and each time, what would you say? i did not do it. keith morrison: but even though it appears from the interrogation tapes that kathy did say some improbable things--

keith morrison: --sh was on doctor-prescribed anxiety medication the whole time, she said. so in her confused fog and prompted by the investigators, said kathy, her descriptions were unclear. she may even have imagined things she could not have seen. is it possible that you were led into saying something like that? absolutely. absolutely. she was in a plastic bag and i saw, just what through the transparency of the bag, i saw a little bit of her hair. keith morrison: so why did she fail the polygraph? i was very upset. i was very emotional. and they did tell me that in order for me to take this test properly i could not feel any emotions. and just hearing the words--

just hearing her name, it was very emotional. keith morrison: but it was true, she said, no denying it, she did take $6,000 in cash and an heirloom ring from nancy pfister's safe deposit box the day after she found the body. but it wasn't for her, she said, rather it was to fulfill a promise to nancy. she often would say, if anything happens to me in my travels, make sure do this, can you do that, make sure-- you know, my little to-do list. keith morrison: and on to-do list, that ring. she inherited a family ring from her mother. and her sisters wanted it, and she had asked me, you make sure that juliana-- if anything would happen to me, that she would get this ring. that was my intention was to fulfill her wish. keith morrison: to give it to juliana. to give it to juliana. keith morrison: just as she had every intention of giving the money directly to juliana too, so it wouldn't disappear into some disputed family trust. but then she said the investigators used everything

she said and did against her. i just thought, no, this is not happening. how can they be so wrong. i had nothing to do with this. she was my dear friend. i loved her. keith morrison: kathy's attorney told her, don't worry, the case won't hold up in court. but even if he was right, the trial might be years away. and so she did all that was left to her. and i started praying, praying that the truth would be revealed. that's what i wanted was the truth to be revealed. keith morrison: and then, suddenly, it appeared that it was, the truth, that is. but would anyone believe it. coming up, a stunner from mr. styler. mr. styler, i'm going to have you right here, sir. ok. william styler wanted to make a statement.

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ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy, it went the way it often does in criminal cases, a period of frenetic activity followed by a sort of calm stasis, so it was with the murder case of nancy pfister. the flurry of action loosed from the moment her body was found in february 2014 to the arrest of the third and final suspect, kathy carpenter in mid-march dissipated with the spring thaw. the case now slouched towards summer. nancy's friend, billy, missing her more than ever. the last time i spoke with her, all we talked about were plans, everything we were going to do this summer, all the different ideas she had. keith morrison: but the only thing on the calendar now was a preliminary hearing scheduled for late june. all three defendants had pleaded not guilty.

and their respective attorneys-- beth krulewitch for nancy styler, greg greer for kathy carpenter-- were deciding their strategies, analyzing the evidence. the evidence, as i was seeing it, suggested to me very strongly that kathy carpenter may have done this and that she was setting up the stylers. kathy carpenter is innocent, innocent, innocent. i can't say that enough. keith morrison: but deputy da andrea bryan and her investigator, lisa miller, were preparing to argue it was a conspiracy involving all three. and then, less than two weeks before that hearing-- in the process of getting all of your material together for the preliminary hearing, what happened? i got a phone call from my assistant district attorney one afternoon. saying? saying that he had spoken with a defense attorney, specifically williams styler's defense attorney, and that william styler wanted to make a statement.

keith morrison: now that could be interesting. the good doctor was wheeled into the interview room where lisa miller was waiting for him. keith morrison: oh, but it was far more than just a statement. trey styler dropped a bombshell and blew the da's meticulously assembled case wide open. keith morrison: it was a confession. after months of strenuous denials, trey styler told them-- keith morrison: detail by detail, trey took them through the killing, how he slipped out of his motel room while his unknowing wife was sleeping and drove to nancy pfister's house intending to confront her.

keith morrison: then, he said, as he stood over the still sleeping nancy pfister, all the rage that built up inside him during his dreadful physical and financial decline, suddenly focused on the singular idea. keith morrison: so he went down the stairs, got a hammer, climbed back up to the bedroom. keith morrison: then, strengthened by a rush of adrenaline, he said, he single-handedly wrapped nancy pfister up, dragged her into the closet, and covered her up. keith morrison: and then he grabbed and took away some of nancy's belongings to make it look like she was gone. he was very clear about what he did, how he did it, and when he did it in very specific detail.

keith morrison: as for his wife or kathy carpenter-- keith morrison: and until this moment, he insisted, he hadn't told either one of them a single thing about what he did. he not only limited his wife's participation in that statement, he said she wasn't involved at all and that kathy carpenter wasn't involved at all, that he did the whole thing himself, that he had a burst of energy and he was able to do all of those things on his own. you have a skeptical look on your face. that's what he told me, yes. what did you think? having heard that, investigator miller told dr. styler exactly what she thought.

keith morrison: at this time, investigator miller was convinced all three were in it together. she looked straight at trey styler and confronted him. he was a frail, old man. surely he didn't expect she'd believe he did it all alone. keith morrison: but trey remained resolute, he was the lone killer.

keith morrison: how concerned are you that he decided that he was going down anyway, he might as well get them off the hook and that's really what was going on here? that's a concern in any case like this. keith morrison: so now it was decision time, take trey styler's confession at face value and release both nancy styler and kathy carpenter or send him back to his cell and proceed with the prosecution of all three. coming up-- took my world and just flipped it upside down. keith morrison: --a new explanation that not everyone was buying.

william styler said that. i'm not saying that. keith morrison: what was the truth? and whose story would prosecutors believe? i just hope that she would find forgiveness in her heart. what does she have to forgive you for? when dateline continues.

keith morrison: a full confession, the best possible solution for a murder case, if they could believe it that is. keith morrison: but are you comfortable with that explanation of this crime? are you comfortable that that is the whole thing? i don't know if we'll ever know the whole thing. keith morrison: around the pitkin county da's office was a nagging worry. dr. trey styler demanded, and the da approved, a quid pro quo, his full confession in exchange for his wife's

unconditional release. keith morrison: but what if he was lying? how would they ever prove it? we had no facts to refute his statement to me. we weren't in that room that night that nancy pfister was murdered, so we had no facts to refute what william styler was saying. so you're saying to me that kathy carpenter and nancy styler are both innocent, neither one participated in this crime. william styler said that. i'm not saying that. keith morrison: but despite investigator miller's doubts, on june 17, 2014, after 3 and 1/2 months in jail, nancy styler was released. nancy styler: and my attorney, beth, was there. and she said, good news, you're getting out. and i said, great, they figured it out. and then she said, but there's a catch.

keith morrison: she gave nancy a letter. it was a private note from trey. nancy styler: and in this letter, he tells me about the plea bargain that he took. and one of the sentences that i've read a million times over, said, "i know you're innocent, and you should believe that i am too." keith morrison: trey wrote that he was only pleading guilty to save her. he didn't actually kill nancy pfister, he wrote. he was falling on his sword for love. nancy styler: i cried that whole day even though i was getting out. it should have been a great time. i can't believe he's having to do this. this system is sick. it's messed up. keith morrison: three days later, june 20, dr. trey styler formally pleaded guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. that same day, the da dropped charges against kathy carpenter and she walked out of jail a free woman. i was very grateful, very thankful.

and i felt god answered my prayers. but at the same time, it was still scary. i'm leaving jail after being locked up. what will people think? how will i be judged? keith morrison: she is grateful, scared, also sad. but there was sorrow for still thinking of the loss of nancy and that he did something like this, that he did it. that was still hurtful. keith morrison: but nancy styler added a bitter anger to her whirlwind of grief and relief. if trey was innocent, as he told his wife he was, then had the real killer just walked free? nancy styler: i had kathy carpenter pegged in my own little courtroom. and every little piece of evidence that was given to me corroborated that.

keith morrison: and then, it was just over two weeks later, nancy took a call. trey had something to tell her. his letter wasn't quite true, he said. in fact, he and he alone murdered nancy pfister. kathy carpenter had nothing to do with it. it was-- took my world and just flipped it upside down. felt like my whole life had been a lie. my whole life with him had been a lie. so what did he say about being able to withhold that information from you? i said to him, why didn't you tell me, why didn't you tell me. and he said, i was able to tuck it in a small part of my brain where i tried to admit that it wasn't there. and i said, because if you had told me, i would have brought you down to the police station and said, he needs help. give this man the help he needs. and can you imagine that i slept next to him

for six nights after that. keith morrison: nancy tried to rebuild her life, move back to the east coast where she grew up, and reclaimed her maiden name. she filed for divorce. do you love him at all anymore? i love him. i love him. i love the man that was. i don't love this monster. keith morrison: in 2015, william trey styler was found hanging in his prison cell, his death officially ruled a suicide. nancy styler said she hopes people will remember him for the man he once was before physical and mental illness took over his life. it was then that nancy styler's attorney, beth krulewitch had to admit that she had been completely wrong to think kathy carpenter was involved in the murder and set up the stylers. had trey styler not confessed, i think there's a very decent chance that kathy carpenter could have ended up convicted.

and what a tragedy that would have been. and still, i think they're a little suspicious of you, you know? i've heard that there's still some questions in people's minds. keith morrison: she knows, all too personally, what it's like to lose the trust of her community. she's also lost her job, her home, and she's lost her very best friend, she said. she told us she feels guilty. that's why i say i wished that i could have helped her and have been there. what could i have done differently? talked her into staying there, not coming home. nobody can know the future. right. but i do blame myself. that's something that i'll have to work through, but-- keith morrison: one person with whom kathy had not spoken with after all this happened was nancy

pfister's daughter, juliana. keith morrison: what would you want to say to juliana? that i just hope that she knows the truth. i had nothing to do with the murder of her mother. i was never-- would still-- and i just-- i was looking out for her and her mother's wishes. and that i just hope that she would find forgiveness in her heart and know that i love her and her mother very much. what does she have to forgive you for? i don't know why i would even say forgive, but-- - it's curious, huh? - yeah. [sighs] it's just, i've been portrayed as this thief, this bad person, untrusting, and i don't know why. keith morrison: trust, something

nancy pfister was known for, not so much of it these days. aspen will never be the same. my life will never be the same. so what has aspen lost? a lot of history, you know. nancy was part of aspen's history. it's a huge loss for the community. keith morrison: some members of which will be telling stories about nancy pfister for a very long time. billy clayton: nancy lived a fantastic life. and i think we all need a little more dreaming like that, a little more-- keith morrison: little more nancy in us. billy clayton: little more nancy in us, yeah. [music playing]