>> victims of an improbable crime. mother, father, son, shot, in the dead of night. >> it felt like an ambush. >> investigators, searching for clues, but what they found were secrets. a forbidden love affair, right in the family. one son, sleeping with the other son's wife. >> he said, if i would have an affair, he wished it would be with anyone else, except his brother. >> bad blood between brothers.

that meant, a motive for murder. and, did one kill the other to steal his wife? >> i wouldn't do that to my brother. >> in court it all came out. scandalous passions, jealousy, greed, lust. >> he said, he was the black sheep of the family. >> a family saga, turned riveting courtroom drama. >> i cried the whole time. >> the time we received the call was around three. >> effingham 9-1-1? >> help, please. >> what's wrong? >> gun. shot. >> you're shot? >> yes. >> where you at? >> the sheriff's office 9-1-1 operator, could barely understand the voice on the other end of the call. >> how did you get shot ma'am? >> i don't know. >> you don't know? >> no.

>> andré, get james, 10-18, hurry up. >> the dispatcher, calling for sergeant james to help out. >> where did you get shot at? >> face. >> in your face? >> yes. >> it was difficult to hear what she was saying. you could hear her gargling, due to blood in her throat. >> it sounded as though, she was not the only victim. >> husband. shot. too. >> your husband shot too? >> yes. >> okay, is there anybody else in the house with you besides you and your husband? >> yes. >> who else is in the house with you? >> son. >> your son? >> yes. >> two, possibly, three adult shot in a home, in the middle of the night. >> did he get shot too? or do you not know? >> i don't know. >> you don't know? >> no. >> the female survivor had no idea if the assailant was in the house. >> we weren't sure if it was a home invasion, we weren't sure if it was an accidental discharge of a firearm. >> what is your name sweetie? >> linda. >> linda?

>> the sergeant, and other deputies, we're racing to the location. a one storey ranch house, and a heavily wooded area, of side of town. >> there was little to no light outside. it was pitch black. our weapons were already drawn. we weren't sure if the suspect is in the area, still in the woods. we approached the door, and we could hear the sound of a female moaning, what appeared to be pain. >> they could hear her, but were delayed and finding her, because something stop them in their tracks as they entered the kitchen. >> there was an overwhelming smell of gasoline emanating from the house. it was extremely noxious, hard to breathe. the deputy hill slipped on the gasoline, and i had to catch him to prevent him from falling. >> why hadn't the gasoline been torched? was someone trying to lure the cops inside, before striking a match. >> it felt like an ambush. >> they found the woman, slumped on the kitchen floor,

behind a table. the woman, linda, still holding her cell phone. the distress call was genuine. and, her injuries were grave. >> she had some sort of, fabric, a towel, on her throat, and it was soaked in blood. i asked her to remove the cloth from her throat so i could get a visual of her injuries. the entire area of her neck here was missing. and she swallowed, you could see her throat moving. >> one victim accounted for. where were the others? >> she didn't know if anyone else was still on the residents. she didn't know if her son, and husband, are still alive. >> with guns drawn, deputies, continued clearing the residents. the information that they yelled back down the hall was as bad as it could get. linda's son, shot dead, in one bedroom. >> he was in the bed, still under the covers. he had an obvious gunshot wound to the face. >> linda's husband, philip, shot dead in their bedroom. >> he had pulled a sheet above his face, and a defensive stance. there was a gunshot wound through the sheet. >> an explosion of horror. three people, gunned down, two

fatally, on a quiet road, in a quiet georgia town. now, linda, the lone survivor, was on route to the hospital in grave condition. what had happened in the dark hours of a monday morning in that modest house? peeling back the layers of the mystery would take years. it would leave a family torn apart, and a community devastated but to begin to comprehend what happened, you need to roll back the clock, back to 2008, to a town called springfield, and a family named the heights. >> if i were to ask you what the height family was like, in 2007, what would you say? >> great family. spiritual family. pillars of the community. >> the height family in 2011? >> destroyed. >> what had happened on springfield road? who would want to god fearing people like the heights, dead? coming up -- >> he was a go getter.

he was going to get out, and if there was a deal to be made, he was going to go after it. >> he was a player? >> he was. he would get the job done. >> the hard charging businessman, with a deal gone bad. had the neighbors been ruled out? and urgent investigation begins. when dateline, continues. od for you, shingles doesn't care. because no matter how healthy you feel, your risk of shingles sharply increases after age 50. but shingrix protects. proven over 90% effective, shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can also happen. the most common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site,

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[ woman ] st. jude saved my daughter's life. [ claire ] i love st. jude. [ male announcer ] please call or go online right now and become a st. jude partner in hope today. when you got the definitive news here, it's a family, and they're all gone? >> it was just one of those. a sinking feeling. to know that something like this has happened. >> you have seen a lot of bad stuff, and this was enough to sicken you? >> it was. >> philip height was a large-scale real estate investor and a prominent name across the town. someone who counted sheriff mcduffie as one of his best friends. but now he was dead. mysteriously and beautifully cut down in his own home in the middle of the night. along with his son, and his

wife who was the lone survivor. >> i knews these folks. i had been friends with these folks. and it was just bad. >> that's part of the country, southeast georgia, isn't used to waking up to grisly news like this. that just isn't supposed to happen in effingham county, only 45 minutes from downtown savannah but a world away with its mom and pop shops, cattle fields and farms. and cotton fields. it's a place where people go to church, work hard, and know their neighbor. >> in this community, family sticks together. just the nature around here, i reckon. >> james had lived here all his life and like anybody born and raised in effingham, he knew the family. >> the height family is a good family. well known family. they respect everybody. >> james grew up with the three boys. billy heckman know their father,

philip. >> they are a family that loved their family and i think you can see that throughout the old height clan that there is a lot of love that goes through them. >> devout, rock-solid people led by the family patriarch. philip. and as a major real estate developer in the area he was very much a big deal around town. >> we have numerous commercial sections that philip really close and he was a go getter, he was going to get out and if there was a bill to be made. he was going to go after. >> so he was a player? >> he was a player. he was going to get the job done. >> it was a terrific salesman snack he had, even if he got the better part of a deal, he left you feeling good about it. >> philip was a guy that loved people, he was a guy that people loved him. he just always made people feel good. he always made you feel like

you are special. >> when he wasn't putting in long hours at the office. or serving as president of this board, or director of that bank. he took pure delight in raising the cattle on his land that went back for generations. the property on rural springfield egypt road. but above all, philip heidt like to spend time with his family. linda, his wife of 40 years and his three sons craig, chris and carrie. >> the most important thing is his family. he always wanted his family to be close to each other. he always wanted his family to love each other. >> then came that horrific night in august of 2008, when philip, carrie, and linda heidt were shot in the height home. only linda survived to call 9-1-1 but now she was in serious condition in the hospital. >> i could not believe it, because miss linda and mr. philip, they were really nice people. >> none of the locals wanted to think it had anything to do with the nearby people suspected of cooking meth. and with whom they shared fifth springfield, egypt road. there had been some arrests a

while back. residents felt helpless behind crime scene tape, including a cousin. mark. >> it was a horrible day. >> down the road, hundreds gathered for philip and carrie heidt's funeral. cousin mark was a poll bearer for philip. >> it was a full house, we had standing room. but people couldn't get it. it showed how much we were loved, how much people thought of the family. >> double caskets, the tear streaked faces of mourners drawn taught with grief. no one wanted to send the father and son off like this. >> it was terrible, i lost the best friend and a person to talk to. >> james had known carry so well, and for so long. >> he basically was the person that was always worried about everybody else, i reckon. he made time for you. >> carrie was the babble in the family, there were two older brothers. chris. and craig.

though carrie would be the one to follow his father into real estate and like his father, carry shared a zest for work and i love a family. >> busy all during the day, meetings at night. running late, watching home. getting the kids baths. but he did looking forward to going home and giving the kids baths. >> he was proud of always being there for his three children, and his wife. someone he had known since high school. >> the only real girlfriend girlfriend he had had was robin. that i'm aware of. >> in high school, robin had been voted class clown. and when the vibrations girl started dating the quiet, street laced, carrie. some did not see the match. but it worked for them. they got married a year after graduation. >> he loved her from day one. he did everything he could for her. sure did. >> and now carrie and his father phillips violent deaths were a mystery. if only carrie's mother, linda, miss linda to one and all. could help with crucial details. but she could not speak. her lower jaw and neck had been torn up by a shotgun blast.

it was questionable whether she would make it. >> based on what we saw on scene, we did not believe that she was going to survive those injuries. they were that serious. >> had she seen the person, or persons who had shot her? would she be able to give a description that could help authorities apprehend the killer, now on the loose? >> coming up! something seemed fishy right from the start. was it obvious what had gone on there to you? >> after looking at the scene, it became obvious. that this scene was staged. >> staged? >> yes. >> when dateline continues! i gotta wrap this commercial, i think i'm late on my payment. it's okay, the general gives you a break. yeah, we let you pick your own due date. good to know, because this next scene might take a while. for a great low rate, go with the general.

oppenheimer was the father of the atomic bomb. next scene might take a while. we were intervening in the course of human history. detonator's charged. 3... 2... 1... the family home of philip and

linda heidt. the modest red brick house where they had raised three boys was now a stomach churning crime scene. philip heidt and his son, kerry, dead, shot at point blank range. linda in grave condition after taking a buck shot to the face. crime scene had them coming through the heidt place inch by inch. the team, led by case agent eugene at the georgia bureau of investigation. was it obvious what had gone on there to you? >> after looking at the scene, it became obvious that the scene was staged. >> staged? >> yes. >> it was meant to look like a robbery. however, nothing was taken of note. there was money left, keys left. >> stuff that would've been easy to grab and get a little money?

>> yes sir. >> nothing was disturbed other than the bodies found. >> and the csi team found something else. the way the intruder may have entered the home. the point of entry you found to be? where they wanted you to believe it was where? >> the garage door had a pain glass inside of it. and the glass was broken. and it was made to look like someone had entered the residence through that door. >> it may have looked like the intruders way in, but the curtain on the glass panes was undisturbed. it looked as though no one had pushed inside to grab the door handle. there was a much simpler explanation for how the killer, or killers had gotten in and out. they found the families outside key. it was kept hidden, and was missing from its usual place. >> and there was a key inside the doorway. >> the key that was in the doorway was probably the one that was kept outside? >> one would assume, yes. >> so you're looking at somebody who has at least good working knowledge of that house. >> yes sir.

>> strange clues, at a grim scene. in those early morning hours. nothing seemed to be adding up. you have no idea who the shooter is? >> right. >> if they are alone, if there is more than one. >> correct. >> and the one heidt who might know was the wife, linda, who had somehow survived the gunshot to her face. she was recovering, but it would be weeks before investigators could elicit her story. >> her mouth was wired shut due to her injuries. i believe she had some bone graft reconstructive surgeries. skin grafts. it took her a long, long time before she was able to talk to anybody. >> it fell to georgia bureau of investigation special agent john barry to ask the question. are there any cracks? any secrets in the esteemed family? >> at this time we start what we call victimology. and victimology is something where we look at these peoples lives, and try to determine what put them at an added risk

to die that particular evening? >> he had to learn more about the patriarch, phillips business and household affairs. he started by looking at the core of things, the immediate family. they would be a prime source of information, but something else too. >> part of the investigation is, everyone is a suspect at this point. >> barry began his interviews that morning after the murders. sitting around the kitchen table at the home of the middle son, chris heidt. chris told the detective that he had been home with his wife the previous night. she was questioned, and the middle son's story checked out. by then, the crime scene analysts believed the murder weapon was a 12 gauge shotgun. agent barry searched chris's home looking for a fire arm. >> he had several guns there. but nothing in my training, or experience, that indicated that any of them had been recently fired. >> next up, the detective. the older brother. craig heidt. >> craig stated that he was watching television shows. hunting and fishing shows.

>> he told the gbi man that he had spent the night at himself at a place a half an hour drivers away. owned by a friend. agent berry drove up to the cabin to search it as well. >> the search of the cabin resulted in not finding any 12 gauge shotguns. >> but investigators did find 12 gauge ammo in the back of craig's truck. three inch magnum shotgun shells. >> he didn't tell me anything because craig heidt was identified as an avid hunter. and was known to turkey hunt. >> two days after the murders, the agent sat down again, with craig heidt at the sheriff's office. >> how is your mama doing? >> she is doing wonderful. >> she is? >> wonderful. >> after the polite formalities, barry posed the difficult question. who would want craig's family dead? >> craig offered this clue. >> the only thing that my father and carey has remotely said anything to me about

anything is finances. >> craig may have been referring to the fact that his father philip, and brother carey, like so many others. had recently been spreading the plunging value in the 2008 real estate market. investigators would learn that the father son team of philip and carey ran a business worth millions. but they were heavily invested. land rich? maybe cash poor. had something gone dangerously downhill in philip heidt's empire? there were some complicated partnerships to examine. >> once this happened, there were numerous rumors about who did it. and if the market can do it or was it a professional hit? or did someone local do it. >> and he was a player. he had a lot of interest. how to state money? >> he did. >> and it's not unreasonable for investigators to get a deal to go south there? >> exactly. was this a bad deal that somebody got mad about and came to retaliate for. >> and craig heidt had perhaps another clue to offer detectives. he had been after the family

property after the shootings and said that he noticed some of his things missing in the shut out back. including, a 12 gauge firearm. >> the 12 gauge is not there. i have one pair of snakebite boots. that are not there. >> could the assailant had stolen those items to commit the crime? but, there was something else gbi agents was starting to get wind of. rumors around town of a possible skeleton in the heidt family closet. investigators knew it could be nothing or something. but they would have to run down the scuttlebutt before they could move on to other leads. if only one family member would be more candid with them. after all, the rumors were about him. >> have you been totally honest with me throughout this entire investigation? >> yes sir. >> about everything? >> yes sir. >> coming up. >> maybe if i had went in april, to miss london, mr. philip, and

carey. this is what's going on. you should do something now. maybe it would not have went to the limit. >> someone who had been keeping a secret. and it was about to come out. when dateline continues! hmm? what is this place? the other side of the rest stop. bundles as far as the eye can see. if you're looking for a first mate, i know a guy. me. i'm the guy. is this oak? [ sniffs ] four types of jerky. this is where i live now. you could save a ton with progressive by bundling your boat or rv with your home and auto. hey, guys! free bags! they're just giving them away! with a majority of my patience with sensitivity, i see irritated gums and weak enamel. sensodyne sensitivity gum & enamel relieves sensitivity, helps restore gum health, and rehardens enamel. i'm a big advocate of recommending things that i know work. some luxury creams just sit on top of skin. but olay goes 10 surface layers deep.

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our top story, megan rapinoe said she will retire at the end of the current national soccer league season through u.s. women's soccer star saying she felt quote honored to be able to have represented this country and this federation for so many years. attorney for the infamous follower of charles manson says she will be paroled the 73-year-old is currently serving a life sentence after being convicted of killing two people, more than five decades ago. now, back to dateline. k to dateline.

two of the heidts were gone. killed in the middle of a late august nights in 2008. philip heidt, a prominent real estate developer shot bed dead in his bed. his son, and business partner, carey, also shot to dead in his sleep. phillip's wife linda had an injury, but would recover. a deadly three that had investigators working around the clock. while some detectives were interviewing those surprising next of kin in the family. others contacted the family's friends and associates. including the oldest son's craig's, one time we live in companion. a woman named tina williams. >> i got a call from the sheriff's department saying they needed to talk to me. >> detectives were intrigued right away by the girlfriend's sense of remorse. >> maybe if i would have went in april to miss london and mr. philip, and carey, and said this is what's going on. you need to do something now. maybe it would not have went to

the limit. >> what could she be talking about? this story that she hadn't told? >> i wish to the stay that i had. maybe they still would be here. >> tina didn't know anything about phillip's financial pressures. or a missing gun from the property. but she did know something about bottled up secrets. some people would later call it, scandalous, what had happened behind the heidt's closed doors. she had began her story with only good things to say about the parents. people she'd known for several years. >> miss linda and mr. philip heidt were very nice people. very carrying people. >> she met the son craig at the veterinarian's office where she worked laid back in 2003. they chatted about the hunting dogs, and she was struck by well mannered he was. >> very nice guy. very polite. just did the yes ma'am, no ma'am, thank you for helping me. that kind of person. >> craig and tina began going

out. and when craig went on disability, after hurting his back at work, he had plenty of free time to drive the hour from effingham county, to the town where tina lived. he was there when she needed him, she recalls. came to leave on him for support. because at 42 years of age, tina was battling breast cancer. >> if i had a treatment, and i was very sick, he would be there with me. hold my hair if i was sick. he really was very supportive at that time. >> after nine months of dating, craig and tina started making wedding plans. >> we talked about who was going to stand up with us. and who we wanted to invite. and, just had really set a date. and, we really were serious about having a life together. >> but a month before the wedding day she found out something disturbing. really disturbing. tina was on her way to a chemotherapy treatment when she got a phone call. on the other end of the line, a woman's voice. >> she said, you are seeing my husband.

>> and i said no ma'am i'm not, i'm not dating anyone's husband. and she said, yes you are. and i said tell me what your husband is? and she said craig heidt and i said, well wait a minute. i guess maybe i am. >> whoops! a controlled craig soon showed up on her doorstep. professing his love for her and saying that he foolishly hoped that he would get a divorce before she found out he had a wife and two kids back in effingham county. >> and i told him, you need to go home. take care of your business. get your divorce, stay with your wife. do whatever you're going to do. >> craig left tina's house, and within a few months he did get divorced. soon, he and tina were back on course. and he asked her to move up to effingham county. >> you won't have to work and i can take care of you. and, i know your health is bad. and we can have this life. and things will be better. >> but in fact, things were about to get a whole lot worse. and not just for tina and craig. back in effingham, craig's younger brother carey, was having his own relationship problems.

carey told his friend james that his wife robbyn wanted a separation. >> it hurt him. he was torn up. he had made the comment to me about, you don't know how it feels live besides someone in the bed that doesn't love you. >> rob had found that carrie was sent too much time at work. so good husband that he, was he cut back his hours and went to counseling. anything he could do to make it work. >> he would do what it took to keep the marriage together. especially for the kids. i mean, he wouldn't want to see his kids grow up like that. >> but just as much as the kids, he didn't want to lose the wife who was his first and only love. the light of his life. >> they still told me that day

that he loved robyn. he loved her dearly. last that i work, he still tried to make his marriage work. >> and while they were trying to keep their banged up marriage together, carey's older brother, craig, and his girlfriend tina, we're going through pretty much the same thing. tina had moved in with craig, but then he stopped coming home. and then one day, his stuff was just gone. >> i called him and i said have you moved out? what's the deal? your clothes are gone? and he said, well what do you think? and i said, well where you living? and he said, at a fox pen. and i said, okay. >> a fox pen? he wasn't exaggerating by much. craig had moved into this rustic cabin set deep back on some land, owned by a hunting buddy. tina said that she was left high and dry. no job, no cash. >> there would be days i didn't even eat because i didn't have money to eat. >> come summer, tina was very early scraping by. and she said she had no idea that around this time, craig went shopping for a new house. he'd contacted realtor,

kristen. >> personality? how did he come across? >> he was a little quiet. he was just a nice guy. he was meek. >> craig told christie that he was interested in buying some property. kristie said that she showed him a nice house with acreage. and it was going through for a quarter of a mill. >> and he wanted to move up there. and start behind horses. and training them. >> when she asked craig how he was gonna pay. he says he talked about sending some timberland that he owned. >> the land was being sold, that he would know something in a couple of weeks. and he had also told me that he had a girlfriend. and if they moved to this county, could her kids still go to effingham? >> that girlfriend wasn't tina. she hadn't seen him since he moved out. so who was? a month before, tina had noticed something in the mail that caught her eye. craig's phone bill. who were all those calls to? >> i started watching the cell phone bill, for a couple of months. because i had a suspicion that he was seeing somebody else. >> and what an incendiary story

those phone logs would hint at. it was like something out of the bible. taboo behavior, and a game-changer in this murder investigation. and when police figured out what was going on behind those closed doors, they'd have some pointed questions tina's ex-boyfriend. craig heidt. coming up! >> craig. have you've been totally honest with me throughout this whole investigation? >> yes sir. >> about everything? >> yes sir. >> what was the secret that craig heidt was guarding so secretely? as shattering surprise was in store for folks in emington county. >> robin said she was having sex with you? >> when dateline continues! make today the most wonderful time of the year. claritin-d.

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clock. to find out what went on here. >> detectives working the case of the deadly shootings in the home of philip and linda heidt. i've been canvassing the neighborhood and searching phillip heidt's office. but they've also been looking into something closer to home, rumors about a scandal within the heidt clan. there's been a flurry of cell phone calls between the oldest son and his now dead brother's wife robbyn in the months before the murders. and now, detectives were being led in on the secret. close friendly and friend such spectate that there was more

than mere title with between brother and sister in law. they believe that craig and robbyn may have been having an affair. >> the information in the logs showed us that there may have been an in inappropriate relationship between robin and craig. and in particular we wanted to explore this. >> gbi special agent john barry went back two days after the murders. and question him in a taped interview. was he sleeping with his brother's wife robbyn? >> craig. have you've been totally honest with me throughout this whole investigation? >> yes sir. >> about everything? >> yes sir. i've tried to be. i mean, i've been mind boggled. but, what do you think of been dishonest about? >> while, fair one, i think you've been dishonest about your relationship with robyn.

>> it being a sexual relationship. >> no sir. >> craig insisted that there was nothing going on between them. >> i know that it looks bad, but i'm going to tell you something, i couldn't do that to my brother. if i do that to my brother. >> but agent barry knew something that craig didn't. robbyn had already spilled to the illicit relationship with her brother in law. the agents confronted clegg. >> and what if i said robin said that something had happened? >> that's not true. >> please be truthful with me. >> i'm being truthful with you! >> someone's not being truthful. >> i'm being truthful with you! >> the agent was not satisfied with the answers that he was getting from craig. and he still had an unsolved murder on his hand. agent barry tried a new tactic. tell craig that the detectives were honing in on robin as the prime suspect and killer. >> if she loves you, wouldn't it be for her to just kill carey and you can be with her forever? >> there is no way that robin had anything to do with this. i swear to you on my love mama 's life. she had never said anything like that. never.

>> but craig had strong words for whomever did kill his family. >> what do you want me to do. >> i want you to. >> when we catch this person? >> i want you to put them away. >> put them away? >> yes sir. >> that's your wishes? >> yes sir. from the bottom of my heart. put them away. >> even if it's robin? >> even if it's robin. >> telling craig that robin was a lead suspect was actually a fake out. in fact, authorities were zeroing in on craig, not robbyn. due to his inconsistent statements. and while in the interview, craig had not fallen for the ruse and confess to the crimes and protect his lover. the investigators still believe that something was not right about the oldest son's story. and they kept craig on the radar. >> we are keeping tabs on craig at this time. and he began to live with robin at her residence. drive his brother's truck. >> detectives quietly continued

their investigation, running down tip line leads. following the money trail of philip and carey's -- the other residents, meanwhile, worried the case would never be solved. but nine months after the deadly break-in at the heidt -- authorities made their move. >> at approximately 8:35 this morning, craig, 41 of springfield was arrested. >> he was arrested and charged with the murder of his father and brother. and the aggravated battery of his mother. relatives were naturally shocked and distraught. some like his brother. his cousin, could not make

hills or tails of the investigation. and because craig was as flabbergasted as everyone else. >> i said craig, i never would've thought we would be talking like this through a glass. and he said, i would not have either. craig was really scared. he said, mark when they pulled me over and they arrested me. he said that he could not believe, he was shocked. >> mark says to know craig is to love him. and to know that he could not have done this. >> he was like a data. when he came into the room he would make a point to speak with you. shake your hand. >> mark and craig grew up like brothers. >> growing up, if he wasn't at my house spending the night or recants. i was at his house on weekends. always together. >> mark says just like the rest of the heidt, craig was raised to be an actively involved citizen. >> we farmed dreamed about farming together. >> as teens, mark and craig held possessions in the future farmers of america charter. they were involved in the local church. and in school, he says craig was never some wacky loner. >> he had a tremendous amount of friends. he always had a part in school. everyone loved him. >> and they say that craig was close to the family. authorities believe that he had ruthlessly killed. so maybe he wasn't cut out for

the family business like his brothers, but nevertheless, he still made his father proud. >> craig was always working. i never remember him not working. >> when we spoke, mark said that he vividly remembered seeing craig for the first time after the horrible murders. and insisted craig's reaction with that of an innocent man. >> he and i held each other and cried. it was a horrible thing. it was killing him. he said, i could see the hurt in his eyes. >> as for mark, there was not a shred of doubt that craig's emotions that day where the real deal. >> that's as genuine as it gets. i'm tearing up. >> mike believes authorities felt pressured to make an arrest. and so they targeted the easiest person in their midst. namely the one relative with a healthy blot on his reputation.

the one who was rumored to be having sex with him sister in law. >> definitely, he made some bad decisions. we've all done that. but that has not made him a murderer. >> but investigators were talking evidence, and timeline. just look, they'd tell you. in what craig was doing on the day he was arrested. it was may of 2009. the last day of school before summer vacation in effingham county. when police pulled him over to arrest. he was driving his dead brother's white truck. he had his brother's children's i. d. cards in his wallet. the truck was full of craig's belongings. and when school got out, craig and his brother's wife and kids were all going to move to south carolina. to the cops, this was more than just a fling. this was coveting. biblical stuff. jealousy. anger. lust. and greed. >> he had just stepped right into his brother's life? >> exactly. >> took the wife, the house, the truck, the kids. >> the money. he had become his brother. >> coming up! a son and brother on trial.

>> i see no evidence in this house of multiple shooters. all i see is one person taking three shots. >> and a mother takes the stand. the dramatic tale about that deadly night. >> and i heard a very loud blast. and i must have blacked out. i woke up praying. i said god if we're gonna do this then i need your strength. because i have none of my own. >> when dateline continues! new emergen-c crystals pop and fizz when you throw them back. and who doesn't love a good throwback? [sfx: video game sound] new emergen-c crystals. throw it back. martial arts is my passion. i work out whenever i can.

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because of his lies, the type of person he is. because of the conflicts that was taking place. >> craig heidt, on trial in a georgia courtroom for shooting to death his father and brother in their beds. and gunning down his mother with the intent to kill. >> the murder, of your daddy, your brother. >> the prosecution called the motive as old as the bible.

craig's lust for his brother's wife. and greed fooled by the last. they begin by bringing to the stand the one witness in the case. who asked not to have her face shown on camera. the defendants old mother linda. >> he came up to the house, he was going to spend the night with us. >> speaking hesitantly after several surgeries to her face. she told the story of that harrowing night her quiet world was ripped apart by three gunshots. it was august 25th, 2008. she and her husband philip had an extra guest that night. their son carey. >> he and his wife or having problems, and he came to our house. >> they had all gone to bed. but linda had recently become absorbed with puzzles called word find books. she was doing one of the bathroom, off the bedrooms, to

not disturb her husband. when she heard a sound. >> and i heard a very loud noise, a blast. so i went out and went in the bedroom. and i said philip! and when i said that, i saw a blast. when philip was shot. and then, i saw the blast as i was shot. and i must of blacked out. i remember waking up and i was laying on the floor, and i saw my teeth laying on the floor. and i must of blacked out again. and i, woke up praying. i said god if we are going to do this. i need your strength. because i've none of my own. >> linda tried to call for help on the bedroom phone, but the line was dead. by now, she was bleeding profusely. she grabbed a piece of clothing and held it to her face. she doesn't know how she made it to the kitchen. but she was able to get her cell phone out of her purse to 911 dial. >> effingham, 9-1-1. >> help, someone? >> hello? >> help. help. help. please.

>> officers came in, i think it was about three deputies. and they were flashing the flashlights. and they said ma'am put down the weapon. but i was sitting there, holding my cell phone. and one of the officers went back to the bedroom and they said there's two back here dead. and pretty well after that, i don't remember anything for about four weeks later. >> what, if anything, could she tell authorities about the assailant? >> do you remember giving a description of the person that you saw in -- >> a slender man? >> you weren't able to give any other better decisions or more detail than that? >> no. >> linda's son craig hardly look slender in court. but the state said if you put all the pieces of the odd crime scene together, the shadowy figure in the bedroom that night had to have been craig. first, a crime scene analysts

concluded only once assailant entered the home. >> i see no evidence in this case of multiple shooters. one person taking three shots is what i see. >> and the analysts said the crime scene did not look like a robbery gone wrong. jurors were shown the jewelry and cash left in plain sight. the key, the undisturbed curtain on the door. signs, said they lead case agent. that the scene was staged to deflect attention away from the intruders real motive. >> it was cleared to designed to break in, and kill every soul in the residence. >> once more, the only things that were supposedly missing from the residents all belong to craig. his boots, his coveralls, and his 12 gauge shotgun. the ammunition likely used in the attack. and it was the same kind of

ammunition that was found in the truck. michael prosecuted the case. >> when they found the shotgun. >> live ammo? >> three inch shelves. >> winchester? >> winchester. >> and yet, the question remained, what would make read even consider putting a shock into his family? what could've driven him? >> the state would call to the stand craig sister-in-law, robbyn. for the first time, she would reveal the full story behind what, until now, had only been rich grist for the effingham county rumor mill. >> surname for the record please. >> robin heidt. >> all eyes were glued to the witness box the day that robin took the stand. jurors had already heard from the prosecutor about an inappropriate relationship between craig and robin. and now, they were gonna hear from robin herself. about what exactly had been going on in the family behind closed doors. and between brother and sister by marriage. >> are you married? >> no sir. i'm widowed.

>> and who are you married to? >> i was married to carey heidt. >> how long were you married? >> 13 years. >> robbyn told the jurors about her life with carey. >> we had a very good, very prosperous living. >> did you ever like -- >> no. >> was he always able to provide? >> yes he was. >> what kind of husband was he? >> a very good husband. >> and how carrie was good with the three children as well. >> he was the best father, a wonderful father. >> but then, she explained, that in 2008. things got rocky between her and a husband. >> he spent a lot of time at work. a lot less time at home. he became very distant with me. i wasn't really sure why, i didn't realize that the real estate business was not going as well as it had been going. and i knew there was some problems but, there was a lot of problems and he didn't discuss them with me. so we became pretty distant. as far as our marriage, and relationship. >> the strain in their union was enough to cause driving to stray from carey. and in a shocking way. >> yes, in april of 2008, i

engaged a relationship with his older brother, craig. >> coming up. >> how did he find out about the affair. >> i told him. >> you told him? >> he was upset. he said if i was gonna have an affair he wish it would've been with anybody else besides his brother. >> details of the affair laid bare. was that a motive for murder? when dateline continues! i go to spin classes with my coworkers. good for you, shingles doesn't care. because no matter how healthy you feel, your risk of shingles sharply increases after age 50. but shingrix protects. proven over 90% effective, shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. an increased risk of guillain-barré syndrome was observed after getting shingrix. fainting can also happen.

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stayed over at her in laws, philip and linda's, because she was scheduled to take philip to a doctor's appointment in the morning. and craig was at the house too. >> do you and craig have an internment relationship that night? >> we did. >> where was that? >> that was in philip in linda 's living room. >> where were philip and linda? >> they were asleep. >> that relationship continued from that night forward. robbyn said that craig would call her, often using a cell phone that a friend had gotten for him, to set up a rendezvous. they would often meet at the hunting lodge that craig was cashing at, after moving out on his girlfriend, tina. >> how many times were you intimate? probably 20 times. >> a few weeks into the affair, robbyn said that she told her husband carey what was going on. >> how did he find out and know about the affair? >> i told him. >> how do the act when you told him? >> he was upset.

he was very upset. and he said that if i was going to have an affair, he wished it would've been with anybody else except for his brother. and he was very upset about it being his brother. >> and the prosecution asked robbyn, what did she see in her brother in law? robbyn already had carey, who by all accounts, was a devoted husband. doting father, and solid provider. why would she step out on him with craig? who the state portrayed as someone who did not want much out of life, except for time to hunt. craig, who is out of work on disability. and was squatting at a friends hunting cabin. >> i didn't think your life was going to improve by engaging in this relationship? >> at the time, i felt like craig was giving me some attention. and giving me some things that carey wasn't giving me. that at the time, i felt like that was where i need to be. with craig. >> but what were craig and

robbyn going to do when word got up to the family? because we're did get out to craig and carey's father philip, and fast. >> philip was very angry and upset with me. >> and philip wasn't going to take the destruction of his family, and his family name lightly. jurors would next here from friends and colleagues of the lip, that when it came to the embarrassing relationship between the son and daughter in law. philip was gonna do anything he could to stop it. >> he said i'm gonna take craig out of the will. >> coming up! word of a fight in the family. bad blood, beginning to boil. >> the range was still building up. and he knew that if he was ever gonna do something, now is the time. >> when dateline continues! yeah, we let you pick your own due date. good to know, because this next scene might take a while. for a great low rate, go with the general.

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you know. he was a good friend. >> memories of philip resonated with his business partner, harvey. >> philip and i were probably as close friends as each one could have.

>> a man as proud, as he was private. philip would only open up about his troubles, to his most trusted associates. and the problem that he had on his hands in late august, 2008. was a doozy. >> the friday before, his death, while we were going to our meeting he says. sometimes i think i just want to jump off the bridge. and i said, philip. i said, it's not that bad. >> harvey thought philip was referring to the unnerving downturn in the 2008 real estate market. but no, phillips said that his problem stemmed from turmoil within his family. and now philip was gone. and his son craig was on trial, for shooting to death both him and his father, and wounding his mother. the prosecutor will tell the jury not just the story of a taboo relationship between the man and, his brother's wife. but also about an emotionally complicated position involving

the black sheep son, and the father, dead set against the affair. -- a few months before his death. a revelation with friends said board into his very soul. >> he was rarely mad, very upset. he just did not stand the idea that this would be in someone's heart. this marital affair was driving him up the wall. >> philip simply could not let this affair run his course his friend said. because more than real estate, philip live for his family. and his good name. it meant everything to him to keep all the heidt living in harmony. working hard to preserve the essential land for future generations. but when philip confronted his son craig about the affair. craig had a surprising response, according to his mother. >> what did craig say about the affair? >> that if he wanted robbyn he would have robbyn. >> and what was that for you at the time in regards to that? >> it was kind of arrogant.

>> he told his mom a few weeks before, if i want her i will have her. and i can't even imagine that you have a conversation like that with your mother. anyway, how are you gonna have thanksgiving dinner? >> for instance. >> with these dynamics. you can't. so he knew that mom and dad would never accept it. >> the bad blood between craig and his family members quickly worsened, according to the prosecution. jurors heard about a heated argument craig and his brother carey had gotten into outside a sonic restaurant. and craig didn't seem to care who knew that things were toxic inside the heidt family. real estate agent, kristie campo. >> he said that he did not get along. that he was a back sheep of the family.

and he wouldn't help them if they were on fire. >> craig said that he said the same sentiment to her. >> craig said that if his father was on fire, he would not put egg on his father to put him out. >> father and son, brother and brother, a husband and wife all square it up in the court. the story being told in the court was of the heidt family destroying itself. a match had been lit, as the prosecutor told him. and cut late august, an explosion was about to go off. robbyn told the jurors about a driveway altercation a week or two before the shooting. between her and her father in law. an argument that became physical. >> philip said, you know look around you. these are things that craig cannot give you. these are things that only carey can give you. and he said you don't understand how craig's. he has issues that you don't understand. and that upset me. i said, i'm leaving. i'm getting in the car and i'm leaving. so i got in my suburban, the window was roared down, and i went to crank my car.

and mr. philip reached in, took my keys and pushed my arm away. >> robbyn says that she told her about the incident with his father. the state theorize that it was about then that the tensions in the family became unbearable. of family friend named loretta recalled that carey told her about the fight between the two brothers that turned ugly. >> he said they surprised him at the house. and craig brings in the run. and he just threatened to shoot carey. and his daddy grabbed the gun. took the gun, and took it away. >> jurors sound photos of damage to the house caused by the two brothers. a damage, wall damage furniture. in court, loretta testified about what else she said carey told her. that during that fight, philip, the father, had given craig an ultimatum. >> if you don't leave robbyn alone, i'm gonna cut you out of the will. >> and in fact, phillip heidt's accountant testified that he and philip did discuss taking

craig out of the will. and philip's son, carey, had already taken his life name oft or 3 million dollar trust he had set up for his children. it's not clear what craig or robbyn did or did not know about these papers. but then, prosecutor michael said financial concerns were definitely on craig's mind. money is not a small factor here? >> money is a large factor. meaning, he knew he had to provide for carey's wife like carey had been providing. and the only way that he was going to get any financial means to live the life that he wanted to live with robin was through an inheritance. and he has enough sense to know that he is not going to inherit anything if both parents are dead. >> they also heard the realtor

christy campo's story, of craig asking to show him some territory. >> i showed him the house. he said he was going to purchase some more horses to start training them. so he said, he's asking how much more land he can buy with the house. >> but state suggested that craig's house hunting showed premeditation. he never did own any land to sell off, as he told the realtor. so other than the family for the inheritance, how else would he get the money to close in on the new house and live with robin? the prosecutor asked her just that. >> to your knowledge, did you have any means to go by a quarter million-dollar piece of property? >> no. i don't think so. >> where was he going to get the money for you to live together? >> i couldn't answer that. he would have to. >> but did he have the money? >> not myself. no. >> then came that day in late august, the week before the murders on early monday morning. the countdown to a double homicide was about to begin as the prosecutor sides. that friday night, robbyn had been with craig at the hunting cabin. >> that night, while i was there.

he made the comment that if carey and philip weren't careful, that he would go old-school on them. >> do you know what he meant by that? >> i do not. >> the next morning, an odd thing happened at the cabin. craig and robbyn noticed a low flying helicopter that looked as though it was spying on them. robin asked her husband about it later that day. >> carey told me, that i need to remember he had friends in high places. any pointed up at the sky. and he didn't actually come out and tell me about the helicopter. i said i believe that was you. >> in fact, philip asked a friend to see if the suv was at the cabin. and if so, to take some photos. he did locate this white suburban park next to craig's truck. -- >> he had a very, very angry look on his face. >> ever seen that mad before? >> no. >> that surveillance by the friends of the helicopter, taking pictures of the cars.

is that abuse here do you think? >> the fuse was burning. and, that just helped it burn faster. you have to remember that the opportunity did not arise until that sunday night, when robbyn informed craig that carey was going to be over there. >> that sunday, carey took the children to church. when they got home, robbyn made them lunch. and then she and carey got into what would be one final arguments >> he was very upset because he had proved that i spent the night with craig on friday night. so he said he felt like it was best since he was so angry and upset that he would stay with his mother and father that night. so he practiced things and left around four. >> it would be the first time that carey would stay over and his parents house in 13 years. robin says she called craig and told him that carrie had left. and where he was headed.

she says she spoke to craig on the phone one last time before going to sleep. but, later that night, craig did one make more phone call to the old girlfriend, tina williams. >> i'm sorry for ruining your life. i'm sorry i can't help you financially. i'm sorry for involving you in my life, in my drama. and i'm thinking, okay. and i thought it was kind of strange. >> tina said she got the eerie sense that craig was fixing to do something. but she couldn't tell why. that's why she had wondered with regret later whether she could've prevented what was about to happen to the heidts in the next few hours. should she have told philip and miss linda early on about the disastrous affair. if they nipped it in the bud, with maybe the murders never have taken place? for the next several hours or so. what happens? >> i think the rage is still building up. and he knew that if he was ever gonna do something, now is the

time. and he had all the people that stood between him and what he wanted. >> it was after midnight. husband, wife, and son in a modest house at the end of a quiet road, settled in for the night. their final night, as the esteemed heidt family. coming up! after the crime, craig heidt on tape. what may be the breakthrough clue in the case. >> as an investigator, some evidence stood out. >> when dateline continues! the other side of the rest stop. bundles as far as the eye can see. if you're looking for a first mate, i know a guy. me. i'm the guy. is this oak? [ sniffs ] four types of jerky. this is where i live now. you could save a ton with progressive by bundling your boat or rv with your home and auto. hey, guys! free bags! they're just giving them away! with a majority of my patience with sensitivity, i see irritated gums and weak enamel. sensodyne sensitivity gum & enamel relieves sensitivity,

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hour's top story -- weapons package for ukraine which includes cluster bombs, human rights groups have raised warnings that the surface to surface warhead can explode after battle, injure and kill innocent people saturday marked 500 days of war between russia and ukraine. u.s. soccer icon meghan repeat no says she will retire after this national women's soccer league season, she is still set to compete in her fourth world

cup later this month. now, back to dateline. to dateline. it was around five in the morning on august 20th of 2008. and robin heidt wife of carey heidt, heard a loud knock at the door. it was two officers in a champion. who told her that her husband carey and his parents had been shot. >> i said some how was carey killed and they said that he was shot in the head. >> the news left her numb. she told the jury, she could not breathe. a few hours later, craig called. >> he was crying really hard and said he couldn't believe what happened. and i said, are you okay? and he said no. and i said, craig, did you have anything to do with this. and he said no. >> she confronted him again

when they were all gathered at his brother chris's house. >> and i saw craig there and i went over to him and i said, you know i want you to look at me and tell me if you've done this or not. and he said no. >> robbyn says that she saw craig at the funeral. and within a week, he asked her if they would be together again. >> he asked me if our relationship was gonna remain how it had been. i told him i wasn't sure at that time. >> in those tumultuous early days. the two kept it cool. and so did the detectives that came across what they considered a huge clue. the significance of which they could keep quality about four months. it was a breakthrough that followed a simple if question. if craig had fired a shock on that night, would he have some telltale bruises from the recoil of the weapon? agent howard asked craig if he could take a look. >> i asked him, do you mind

taking off your shirt. he said yes, he complied. and i was able to see two distinct bruises on his upper bicep in this area. >> but it wasn't just the fact that craig had the bruises where you would expect it. they said he already had a story to account for them. >> craig started to explain away, before he even took his shirt off that, i fell yesterday. as an investigator, hair is on the back of my neck stood up. >> bruises, the sizeable area on the right bicep and a smaller one on the left were photographed. i stepped out of this and after craig was asked to explain it where it occurred. looking noticeably more slender on tape, then he did sitting in court. craig described how he slipped to get out of the shower. >> i stepped out like this. and my right foot came out and felt like that right there. and landed on the toilet.

right there, right there. when i landed, i kind of landed hugging this right here. type of thing. >> he said hit the toilet so hard that it shifted. >> i tried to keep my head from busting this. >> cutting my head, it just all happened so fast that's just how i wound up. >> the states medical examiner took the stand and said craig's bruises look to him like a lot more like the kick from the shock, and then they did the injuries from a fall. and once more, while craig said he's fell just one day before the photos were taken. the medical examiner said the bruisers did not look fresh. >> they had to be at least about three days old because of the gold coloration. in order for the human body to get that gold color with a bruise it takes at least three days. >> in the larger theory of the crime, the one involving the old testament lust. the prosecutors argue that craig pull that trigger three times so that he could have it

all. robin, the money to be with her, and the freedom from his parents disapproval. and they said that he thought he was getting away with it. for a while. >> he needed me. and i was there for him. and i needed him for support so we had each other. >> a few weeks after the funeral, robin and craig visited the cemetery together to throw away the dead flowers on philip and carey's graves. like christmas, they were back together as a couple. and in january, craig moved in. taking carey's old side of the marital bed. he started taking his brother's children -- with robin, but looking back, the sister in law said it just didn't feel right. >> we did look like a family, we were acting like everything was right. and it was wrong. >> robbyn said that she would try to end it. and craig would talk her out of

it. the two even started planning a wedding. robbyn tried on address at this local boutique. and they bought these rings. >> we went and looked at rings one-time. and when we went to look at them, they were on sale. so, we went ahead and approaches the rings. >> [inaudible] >> i did. >> and when craig needed an attorney it was robbyn who pony up $60,000 for legal counsel. money, she says she got from the insurance payout following her husband's death. >> i offered to pay for it at that time. i believed in craig and i wanted him to have good representation. >> do you regret having paid that money? >> yes i do. >> even after craig's arrest, robin said that they tried to keep the relationship going. jailhouse visits. correspondence. >> we wrote letters back and forth. >> and where are those letters today? >> i don't have those letters anymore. >> what did you do with them? >> i burned them. >> but the jury had only heard half the case. the defense was about to say, hang on. look at the prosecutor's case very carefully, and you won't find a shred of hard evidence

tying craig to the awful crime. >> no dna linking him. no blood. >> coming up! family members come to craig heidt's defense. were police a bit too eager to wrap up this case? >> they were basically trying to convince me that craig did it. >> when dateline continues! allergy symptoms including nasal congestion. without knocking you out. feel the clarity and make today the most wonderful time of the year. claritin-d. somedays, i cover up because of my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. now i feel free to bare my skin, thanks to skyrizi. ♪(uplifting music)♪

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and his brothers. life craig's defense attorney was about to present his case. craig's relatives, and, some, culls cousins have been listening for five days to the prosecutions arguments against one of their own. and where it was at least some of the extended clan did not know exactly where they stood. sheriff, you weren't so clear as to where to put the family. they were divided on what they believed had happened in that house and whether craig was the killer. >> i don't think they knew where to sit. here's my nephew, here's my brother here, is my cousin and here is my son. >> maybe you can persuade me of the evidence, mister prosecutor. but there's still -- here is my blood? >> yes. >> for those closest to craig,

his brother -- linda asked not to be shown on camera but told the jurors that she didn't think that craig had anything to do with the shootings. >> was he in a position to judge his general from meaner towards you? >> yes. >> and how would you describe that? >> worried about me. as protective as he could be. and love towards me. >> has he said anything to you throughout those meetings or in your time with him to give you any reason after this factor that he was involved? >> no. >> if a mother's love wasn't enough to convince the jury of craig's innocence jurors also heard from craig's surviving brother. the middle son, chris. his territory would call into question the prosecutors story of an air double sun and the combustible family dynamic that he ruptured. chris told the jury that over the years there was no history of bad blood between craig and the parents. >> i wouldn't say anyone was specifically a back sheep of the family we, all have our own interests. >> and chris explained that while the affair between craig and robbyn had caused friction in the family. craig in the father phillips relationship was far from over. >> there was a little tension, to what was going on in our family and my dad was upset. with that situation. but no, there was no--

their relationship was still close to my knowledge. >> and one of that violent tussle over a gun that supposedly broke out between craig and his brother carey, close to the time of the murders? chris now cast doubt about whether the fight maybe even happen at all. >> did he ever tell you about any type of confrontation in the family home where guns were pulled and where your father allegedly wrestled a gun away from somebody? did he ever tell you about that? >> no sir. >> chris said his mother never told him about any fight either. and that the damage to the family's home, caused by the scuffle was really just normal wear and tear. >> it was almost 40 years old 39 years old at that time. but three boys grew up there,

with seven grandchildren. >> next chris explained that is early as that first morning of the crime. he got the sense that authorities were targeting craig. for instance when detectives searched the hunting cabin where craig was staying. >> when they came out they actually had bags of clothes and shoes. and they had taken the shoes that he was wearing. so, at that point i probably started feeling that they were focusing on him. very heavily. >> and when chris later spoke with detectives, he said that his hunch was confirmed. >> they were basically trying to convince me that craig did it. >> and the defense said if you want proof that authorities had blinders on about craig heidt from day one, just look at all the stories that they did not overturn when it came to other heidt family members. >> at the time i did attempt to get carey heidt's phone records. but did not receive them from the phone company. >> what about chris hunt?

>> did not get chris heidt's phone records. >> what about allen? >> i did not get allen's phone records. >> and he did not ask you to lay all your guns out or identify your residence? >> no sir. he did not. and i did not show them to anyone. >> they cross over other hike family members says the defense. but truly disturbing where the very real, legitimate, and possibly dangerous suspects outside the heidt klan. that the defense said worn properly investigated. the jurors weren't next hearing about those potentially dropped leads. and the biggest problem of all in the states case, according to the defense, the total lack of physical evidence tying craig heidt to the crime. >> no hard, concrete evidence in this case. which is i think what we should demand. >> coming up! emotion in the courtroom. the defense steps forward with some surprises. was there a mishandled crime scene? was there more than one gunman? >> that is possible. >> was craig heidt really behind this? when dateline continues!

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this. never. had a couple of drug bust, but that's it. >> when philip heidt, his wife, and son were all shot in the home in 2008, neighbors were surprised but perhaps not shocked. that treeline rural lane called springfield egypt road might look bucolic. but it had seen its share of visits from law enforcement. >> we have a certain element in this neighborhood. and a lot of things happened that surprised me. >> now on the stand for the defense in his brother craig's murder trial, chris heidt told the jury about the potentially dangerous elements who lived on his parents road. >> there had been a methamphetamine lab. they had actually went in and prosecuted this guy twice for having the lap there. >> chris said that before his father died, philip expressed concern that the man was getting out of prison.

could philip and carey's deaths have something to do with these country drug manufacturers? it was just as likely as the murders involving craig heidt, the defense had argued. and one of the many avenues pointing away from craig heidt that investigators chose not to go down. the defense attorney would argue in court that once the investigators learned about that affair between craig and robin, they decided that they had their man. when in fact, the defense would say that the true killer may have been trumped someone involved with philip heidt's real estate dealings. a business center that had taken a swamp that. if jody was in for the defense. she was phillip's longtime assistant. and that testimony suggested that if elected and tell her something, then it probably did not happen. >> he told me so much sometimes, i you know what how you want to stick your finger in your ear and go like this? >> joanne said philip never told her either about a physical fight in his home between the sons, craig and

carey. and once more, to hear joe and tell it. detectives may have overlooked the real power tank about to explode in phillip's life. >> he had a lot of pressure on him. business wise. >> joe and describe to the jury just how big and varied phillips impressive business holdings were. two from his real estate investments. >> there was a probably 18 entities he was involved in. >> two is connections with cattle investors across georgia and beyond. >> there was someone georgia, but he had them in kentucky, he had cows all over. >> now she told the story that by the summer of 2008's the real estate bubble bursting her boss stop selling and the banks began calling. second and third demands for past two payments of 50 and $60,000. the defense suggested had someone been on the shorthand of one of phillip heidt's dealings? and for reasons of money, and revenge, had wanted him in his family dead? there was evidence to suggest that said the defense. >> i know this one in

particular that got pretty irate. >> joanne told the jury about one strong armed banker that according to testimony, had rattled philip to his core. >> he was really upset, i mean, when he came in his face was real red. he talked about it for a couple of days. i mean, that's how upset he was. >> and yet jurors were now heard testimony of business records of philip and carries, that may never have been scrutinized by authorities. >> did he ever ask you to provide any business documents in particular for them to have all been in? >> no they did not. >> another witness had already testified about information left untouched by detectives. >> the interview, i don't think i gave him any financial documents. >> but if anybody in the professional pass was trying to make a statement by killing him and his family, the defense said, we may never know. because of its next the. the crime scene was mishandled

by police on several key fronts. for one thing, the defense pointed to a list which authorities had kept showing who entered the crime scene. and asked the question, how could anyone trust a crime scene that was visited by 179 people? do you think that it's a good thing or not so good thing? in a lot of crimes? i have kicks play that the struck just weeks of time. >> what about a potential that howard and his team might not have burned down completely? some tire tracks authorities believe were made by a car emergency vehicle, but which the defense argued weren't fully investigated. >> if it were hypothetically tire trucks, could you or could you not take photographs to determine the possibility? >> it's possible. >> even more intriguing will look like a bloody footprint by this crime scene photos.

investigators said it most likely was not the shooter's. but instead might have been made by the first responder to the scene. at times, it seemed that the authorities didn't remember the bloody printed all. >> i don't remember the shoe print. >> were you aware of any photograph taken of the bloody footprint? >> i'm not aware of one. >> overlooked clues in the investigation might be one thing, said the defense lawyer. but the true sign of his innocence was this, in all of the volumes of files, dozens of interviews, hundreds of man hours generated in this case, there was not a single piece of physical evidence tying him to the crime. >> no footprints. no fingerprints and any of these crimes. no surveillance video. no dna linking him. no blood. no hard, concrete evidence in this case. which is what we should demand. >> defense attorney chipped away at what he said the state

had tried to pass off as physical evidence in the case. shotgun shell in his truck might link into the crime, defense said that type of ammo was so common, it is used by 40% of hunters. what about those bruises on craig's arm? which he supposedly got from the recoil when he shot his family? the defense brought its own firearms expert to the stand who put everything into question. >> are you aware of what shotguns do? >> yes. >> it is difficult for me to put a full-size shotgun in position and get it on its right arm. it's not a ballistic of the gun. it is unusual. >> not only that. defenses expert turned on its head the state's theory of the sequence. >> the son was shot first. the mother was shot second.

philip was shot third. >> defense experts also said that the shooter or shooters would likely have had a back spatter spirit of blood. don was found on greater his clothes. lastly, the experts said that there may have been one or more shooter. >> someone else could've been in location and shot her for that matter that location, is that possible? >> that's possible. >> in one final move before craig's defense attorney rested his case, craig's mother returned to the stand. linda heidt once again chose not to have her face shown. you could hear her read a letter of love and reconciliation, which the father wrote to craig. it was dated a few weeks before his death. some of the best evidence, said the defense, that the bond between father and son was as strong as ever. it was never a motive for murder. >> son, i appreciate everything you do and have done.

you're my mom and i love you. we are all going through a difficult time. don't let life pass you by. >> the letter brought craig to tears. if anyone wondered if craig himself will speak, they soon had their answer. >> your name is craig? >> yes. >> with the jurors removed from the courtroom, craig was asked whether he was satisfied with his defense council. >> absolutely. 100 percent. >> craig chose not to testify. and doing so, craig passed up the chance to give jurors his side story, also the opportunity for the prosecutor to ask some pointed questions. >> would you like have cross-examined craig? >> that's one of the reasons i became a prosecutor, to cross examine people. >> now, it was up to the jury to use what they did here to decide craig heights faith. >> you have to sleep at night once you make this decision. >> coming up, deep divisions, difficult deliberation. >> i can't imagine him doing

that out of just anchor. i don't think he hated his family. >> but reach a verdict they did. what would it be? when dateline continues. for a great low rate, go with the general.

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closing arguments. the prosecution. >> they want you to think somebody made this awful crime to make a statement a statement was made, it was made by craig. that's who made the statement. >> and the defense. >> the bottom line is is a do not have any physical evidence that directly links this crime to craig heidt. >> craig heidt attorney reminded just what was at stake. >> this is a court of law, not

a place to take leaps of faith on a man's life. >> in a final dramatic courtroom moment, prosecutor michael reenacted what the state believed really happen in the heidt family home when the crimes happened, from the moment they said craig heidt sneaked in and the dead of night and aimed his shotgun at his sleeping brother. >> he opened his eyes and -- it is off to the races, he turned right on when to his dad he's, his daddy is right there, second shot, right in the face. mom is not there, drops the gun and then he hears her voice. boom, he flings it up, third shot. >> a vivid image with one last question according to the state, the reasons why craig didn't like the gasoline they said he poured all over the house,

prosecutor said after the shootings, craig thought his mother was dead shocked to hear her on the phone to 9-1-1. >> he is getting ready to hear it and he panics. >> now finally the eight women and four men who would decide craig heidt's face had the case. >> it was nerve-racking you know the family has already been through this tragedy and then this other person in their family is going to be possibly put away for life. >> first day elected of floor person jimmy white. >> i said let's take a vote. let's just see where we are at. >> show of hands? >> show of hands. >> what did you come up with? >> 14. >> what was the divide? >> mostly not guilty. >> aid not guilty. >> it was a lot of ground to make up in one direction or another the biggest thing craig had going for him is the lack of physical evidence.

>> what kept bringing me back is the smoking gun the dna, the murder weapon. >> where is it? >> exactly, that's what brought a lot of people back, this guy didn't do it there's nothing that said yes he did it. >> in the absence of physical evidence the jurors were left to ponder the last tangible aspects of the case like just who was this person sitting before them. >> what did you think of craig? >> seemed like a nice guy. >> couldn't imagine him doing this just out of anger. >> i don't think he hated his family, his brother. >> the jurors weren't sure that the affair alone was enough to push him. >> sleeping with your brothers what doesn't make you kill him? >> not at all, we talked about that in the deliberation, just because you're a cheater doesn't mean your murderer. >> i don't think he was the pursuer in the relationship that he had with robin, i feel like she pursued him. >> she was the aggressor? >> i think robin gave him something to hold on to, something that was real in his

mind. >> in your deliberations and you talk about robin? >> oh yes. >> but she wasn't charged with anything? >> we would get into a discussion and then wait a minute. >> we will talk about it and then said she is not the one that is here on trial, let's go back to the focus of craig because he is the one that is here. >> the 12 jurors who started as a deeply divided group were nearing consensus. but jimmy, the four person urged each of them to stand their ground until the vulture. >> you have a problem, bring it up. we have all night, we can come tomorrow, you have to sleep at night to make this decision. >> night fell, the judge was given word, the jury had reached a verdict in the double murder trial of craig heidt. >> count one we the jury found the defendant craig heidt guilty. as to count to -- >> craig heidt guilty of all count, convicted of murdering his father and brother and shooting his mother with intent

to killed. >> i cried the entire time, because i knew they were gonna take another son, and it was very hard. >> did everybody get a good night sleep after that? >> no. >> i don't think i slept good for a week and a half. >> the juror said that it was the sum of all the things they heard and all the evidence they saw that got them to guilty. >> it wasn't any one specific piece of evidence it was everything just altogether came to him. >> some among craig's friends and family vehemently disagree with the jury's decision. >> if craig heidt came to me and said i did it i would not believe him, i know he did not do it. that's how much i believe in him. >> mark believe the real killer was still on the loose. >> there's no closure. there's still the murder that is still out there. nobody feels any safer, any better, at this point.

>> even the jurors feel there is a piece of the puzzle still missing. >> do you think it is the whole story? >> now. >> no. >> do you think there are more people involved here? >> i think there are more people. >> behind the current. >> i think there more people who knew about it. >> as you know very well, there are a great number of people waiting for the other shoe to drop in this case. are they kidding themselves? >> i can tell you this, if there was anybody else involved with the murder of philip and carey heidt, it is against linda heidt. craig heidt holds the key. >> it has been years since the terrible events on springfield, egypt road. linda, the matriarch, made a remarkable recovery. inspiring so many with her grace and grit. >> linda is the strongest person. an incredible person. i didn't know she had it in her to be that strong. >> i think philip would've been very proud of linda.

he would've been happy with her. >> philip is gone now. carey too. craig is locked away. to life sentences, plus another 85 years. effingham county had never seen what happened to the highs and hopes to never to again. i'm craig melvin, and this is dateline. >> my dad was my best friend, he just liked to make people smile. >> he would always boast about how he was an fbi agent. he was so proud. >> my brother and his friend came running down to the neighbor's house. >> just call 9-1-1! >> okay i'm calling. >> police department. can you come down here ma'am? >> what is going on?