him probation and send him home? darren's lawyer, michael green, reminded the judge there had been an alternate suspect. >> this guy shinjo, who was a person of interest the entire time. >> then he told the judge to remember this was not a murder case. >> there's an agreement that my client will plead guilty to nothing. nothing. he's offered to plead no contest to an assault charge. >> and then larry got his chance, finally, to let 12 years of pain pour out. starting with that first awful night when he broke the news to toshi. >> how do you tell a woman that the baby she had once nursed, falling asleep in her arms, played on her lap, skipped off to school clutching the lunch that she had made for her, was now dead? we received a life sentence for the pain, sorrow, agony, and

frustration. a life sentence with no parole. eternity. >> darren stoically sat through it all. and then, what sentence would the judge impose? she began by quoting darren's attorney. >> and that is that he pled no contest to the charge of assault in the first degree. that's what the sentencing is about. >> and larry's stomach started to tighten. >> my lawyer reached over and says, this doesn't sound good. >> and then, six minutes into her ruling, finally, here it was. >> you are hereby ordered, committed to the custody of the director of the department of public safety for imprisonment for a period of ten years. >> ten years. the maximum she could impose. and with that the mendonca family's 12-year quest for justice came to an end. >> that brought justice for my daughter and my fulfillment. >> larry and toshi follow a series of rituals on the anniversary of sandra's death. they bring flowers to her memorial outside the ywca, have lunch at the beach house restaurant where sandra once worked, and they pray by her graveside at holy cross cemetery, where she is surrounded by her ancestors. sandra, so home sick when away from this island that she loved, is now forever a part of it. >> what did you hear? >> a, lapping, screaming. >> you heard screaming? >> you >> i know those kids e died--my life. i don't believe for a minute that they made any of that. >> screaming doses or something else? >> like laughing and screaming. >> they believe their father killed their mother. >> they found her in the bedroom. a young mom, stabbed to death. >> i could see her fighting. fighting for her life. i was so distraught. she was gone. >> she was your, wife and mother children. >> i would wish anybody. >> her accident is in the day

she died. a trip with the kids, who went just like that, he was suspect number one. >> i was absolutely flabbergasted. >> how could anyone think this? >> police say they were a key to the mystery of his own young children. >> she said he picks through the mail slot. >> the ideas were paying undermined. two children, on the stand. what they see? >> that was the hardest thing. because i love him so much i did want them to do this. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> hello, welcome to dateline. there should be nothing more innocent than seen the road to the eyes of a child. but in this story, that may have been the case. detectives believe the six-year- old girl, and a 70 brother, witnessed the unthinkable. the brutal murder have their mother. the case would be built around with those kids had observed. but it wouldn't be so simple.

this crime was brazen as it was mystifying. here is dennis murphy, with what they saw that. >> i think you're good to go. >> jarred, thanks for sitting down with us. >> thank you for having me. >> did you talk about turnout and plunged into sierra's naked killer? >> no. >> absolutely not. >> that did not happen? >> no. >> credibility, with the reliability of years old memories. there is a lot of that ahead. because this is the story of a murder. june 8th, 2012. columbus georgia. it was an apartment made this man who found him. she'd been stabbed to death upstairs in the bedroom. in the kitchen sink,. the victim was here ingram, a 28-year-old nurse and mother. her good friend, kevin smith, such had been answering her phone for days.

>> at first, i thought, why didn't i go down there. >> police would later as mud that sear had been dead in her apartment for nearly a week. >> i think i was so distraught. that she was gone. that i don't really think that at the time high put a lot of thought and who did it or why. >> apartment managers told the inviting officers that sierra had small children. so one of the detectives first question was where are the kids now? that led to a bigger question. one all homicide investors ask. what is the back story here? what was his victims life all about? that began piecing together the story of sierra and jarred. >> she was your wife, and whether your children. when you think about her, and the brutality of it? >> i wouldn't wish that on anybody. >> sierra, already the mother of a young boy. met jarred ingham when they both enlisted in the army in the early 2000s. he, and a friend, cozied up to the pretty young recruit try to

get attention. >> start talking around under the soldiers put off the last spots look like they're gonna make it. and she set up and to challenge me and said. and would be the top the class. >> i said, okay. and after she want to go that weekend. >> you had momentous early date or is that who knows your question? do not and referring to? >> i do. our first date we -- >> conceive the child? >> yes. >> we okay with that? >> i was okay, i was excited. i want to be a father. >> sierra and jarred, intimate strangers, decide to make a go of it when the army for some quick decision. get married or be station apart. >> we got in the cap to go and get our marriage license, the cabdriver mentioned to us that she was also a licensed pastor. so she drove us to a church and we got married. >> you got mary bear cabdriver?

>> yes. >> one stop driving. the army moved him about, they try to build another home and another child. but jarred knowledge or good living together. >> once you got married we actually had our first argument. >> on the ten, scale how active an argument was? >> it was a good eight. but that set the tone for the rest of the relationship. that was every night. >> aren't you guys just shake hands and say see you later. it's been nice. >> the kids, mainly. >> they decided co-parenting was arrangement work best for them. they divorce in 2009 and shared custody. by then, they had both of the military. sara had become a nurse. her friend, and coworker at the hospital. some of the paid. says the main thing keeping star in georgia was being near

her ex. >> she didn't want the children to be without the father. she tried their best nickel parents. and you have to understand that she didn't have anybody here. >> so she sacrificed her short term happiness for kids. >> right. that's a taboo mother she was. >> her friend kendle lived in tennessee, their closest could be. >> when did you talk. and of the day, started the day, and of the day. >> all day. >> we are single moms dealing with our axes and she was my support system. hopefully she thought of me as

hers. >> by 2012. sierra decided it was time for our fresh start. she made a plan to move home turf family indiana. her kids, ages 6 to 7, but stay with jarred for the summer and join her life. >> what should they didn't get? >> yes, she was, absolutely. she was young, so course should want to be alone. >> in fact, before we moved indiana should already met a guide online, who lived out there. he was going to help remove. >> he's gonna come down to georgia. he had made plans. bought a plane ticket. >> that brings us back to sars apartment, and the bloody bedroom. >> as harris moving day approached. kendra noticed her friends and daily text and phone calls had stopped completely. >> i don't talked on the second, on the 30 massacre, and

i got nothing. sounds like, okay, she's busy. ctte d'ivoire >> she ditched me here? >> i thought, okay. she dropped a phone of the toilet. but then, you think about, okay well there are other phones in the world. or send me an email, hey, i'm not ignoring you. >> similar was wary to. she'd helped plan a good five party for sierra at the hospital. but sarah never showed up. >> sitting on the table, all the coworkers. looking at each other. >> you fully expected shoes and walk into the room. >> i want to, but i knew something was wrong. >> similar was at work on tonight. when sarah's brother called her with the news. >> i answer the phone. and he told me that we just found sierra dead. i remember nothing else after that. >> joe that he says he got a call that afternoon as well. there was crime scene tape up his ex-wife's apartment. the corner was there to. he says he feared the worst. and went to go talk to the children just six and seven years old.

>> he said a prayer, them in a matter what happens, i love you very much. i didn't tell them any details but i told them, you know, something might go out mom and we don't know yet. ask daddy questions. >> the day but? >> sun asked me if you have some candy. >> the nose mom was that? >> i don't know. we did know. at this point, we had assumptions, and worries, fares. >> assumptions, worries, fares. and that was just day one. >> the investigation begins in sierra's ex husband is the first person in the hot seat. >> coming up. >> i see an officer approach me with this gun and he races up and says don't move. >> please have some questions for jarred. >> you're the last one that i love to see her, it was some that you want to talk to me about? >> and for the man sierra had met online. >> -- >> what is going on officer? oh my god. >> when dateline continues. tin trelegy improves lung function so i can breathe more freely all day and night. 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. ♪ what a wonderful world ♪ ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy for copd because breathing should be beautiful.

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dennis murphy: ciara ingram was dead-- stabbed three times in the neck and left to die at the foot of her bed. her ex-husband, jarod, was tending to their two children when a police officer reached him on the phone. jarod ingram: he asked me if the kids were ok. i said, yes, they're fine. he said, they're going to send some officers out to talk to me, and they're sending a counselor to talk to the kids. dennis murphy: moments later, jarod saw a woman he assumed she was dead, stabbed three times in the neck and left to die at the foot of isher bed.

her ex husband, was tending to the two children when the police officer reached him on the phone. >> he asked me if the kids were okay. i said yes they're fine. he said that you have a chance to talk to me, and sending a counselor to talk to the kids. >> moments later jarred somewhat he assumed was that counselor in the front yard. >> as i looked, i saw in my for a peripheral vision an officer approach me with a gun drawn. and he said don't move. he pushed me against the wall, put my hands behind my back, and company. >> before he got his bearings, he said his kids were with off in an suv. >> the sheriff okayed a search of his home, and he was whisked to the police station for an interview. the conversation started amicably. jarod ingram said the last time he saw ciara was a couple of

days before. he was picking up some stuff before her movie indiana. >> kids when, in and they started playing. and watching tv. >> how long were you there for? >> seemed like a couple of hours. >> he said they had not talk sense. >> that wasn't unusual, we didn't call each other a whole lot when we have the kids. she wasn't one person the cuddle every day. >> detectives wanted to know about the state of their relationship. how they were getting along? he said they hadn't had any issues lately, but admitted things between them were strained. >> what's been the problem? >> no problem. i just--. once we broke up. i felt like there was no reason to have an argument anymore. >> they also asked him how he felt about his decision to move

to indiana. >> she didn't really ask me about it? >> did she ask you? >> know. >> so she just said i'm leaving? >> yeah. that is her. >> after about an hour, the interview took a turn and the detectives hit him with a revelation. as far as they could tell, no one had heard from her since the visit with the kids. meaning, he was quite possibly the last one unknown to see her alive. >> i feel like you're more than insinuating that i'm responsible for her death. >> i don't know, right now i don't. the only thing i know is that you are the last one that i know to see her. and so far, you're the last one i know that was there. now is there something that you want to talk to me about?

>> no. >> are you sure about that? >> i'm sure. >> the detective told jarod that as they were speaking, officers were spool-ing through the video cameras at her apartment complex. >> why do you feel in right now? >> i'm feeling like i can't wait until you get finished to the rest of that videotape. >> yes. >> and i'm feeling scared, until you do. that's what i'm feeling right now. >> now why would you be scared? >> because if i was the last one that saw her alive, then you could put it on me. >> well i'm not gonna put something on anybody. i'm gonna take the evidence for what it's worth. >> and a look at some of the evidence made it seem unlikely that jarod could've done it. >> the murder was brutal,

bloody. and his two small children had been with him the whole time. though jarod did mention that is they were going to leave the apartment, the kids went outside first. >> they went outside, and i came outside, and she came outside. and that was it. it wasn't a long period of time. >> the detectives really think that jarod had something to do with his ex wife's murder? or where they just pressing him because he was the ex-husband? they entered the interview on friendly terms. >> i appreciate you coming in. >> i appreciate you guys are doing. >> it has been a very long night. jarod says he was just desperate to hug his kids who had lost their mother. >> you could see why you became a figure of interest here? >> when i sit back and put my

shoes and the shoes of the police officers. absolutely. they showed up to the, house they found a body, they picked me up. >> back at the crime scene, investigators look for clues for the story. could it have been a botched robbery? it was hard to tell if anything had been taken, the pop of department had been in disarray with moving boxes. had there been no signs of forced entry? but there was an attempt to clean up the scene with bleach. and they did find a man swatch tucked into the sheets of sierra's bed. who cut that belong to? what about the man she let online. the one flying intel remove. >> this is sergeant from the -- >> his name was right morgan. detective got him on the line. >> were you supposed to come down here to help her move? >> yes i was. and then, about a week before, they, she quit texting me. >> ryan thought he had been ghosted. said that he canceled his plane ticket. >> and i just extra back, i said hey thanks a lot for the top thoughtfulness. and thanks for wasting my money. >> detectives didn't tell them right away why they called. >> what's going? on if you don't mind i'm asking because i'm freaking. like what happened? >> she was killed. the reason you didn't kill anything from her wish she was

murdered. >> you have to be -- me. >> no. >> holy! >> was that genuine surprise? >> oh my god. >> of course they would have to check out his story. and picked through every detail of the last day of her life. that meant talking to her children. whether they see? whether they're here? >> coming up! >> that he wasn't in the living room. he was upstairs. >> that final family visit. what was happening inside their mothers apartment? >> what did you hear? >> a laughing. some screaming. >> you are screening? >> awe. >> screaming noises or something else? >> like screaming. >> when dateline continues! ing. >> when dateline continues!

welcome back. in a tense interview, police questioned jarod ingram about the vicious murder of his ex-wife, ciara. jarod insisted he was innocent, but knew that being the last person to see her alive did not look good for him. as news of ciara's death spread, one friend would come forward with alarming secrets about what ciara said was really happening inside that relationship. welcome back! in a tense interview, police questioned jarod ingram about the vicious murder of his ex- wife.

he insisted he was innocent, but new being the last person to see her alive did not look good for him. as had her friend would come forward with alarm-y secrets of what she said was really happening in the relationship. once again, here is dennis murphy with what they saw! ♪ ♪ ♪ kendra thought she found a kindred spirit when she met sierra. losing her was awful. >> i would get into my car and kawhi because i talked to her every day on my way to work. on every day on my way home. >> and he -- felt hollowed out when she heard. her good, friend fellow nurse gone just like that. >> you are gonna be friends for life for no matter what? >> absolutely. >> we were family. >> the day after she got the news, similar drove to sierra's home and she just had to see the place with her own eyes. >> you went to the scene? >> i went to the scene because i did not want to believe she was gone. >> so everything is taped, and

closed off right? >> i was in denial. that my friend was gone. >> she spoke to an officer who is there guarding the crime scene. >> what did you talk to about then? >> anything that i could remember that she would tell me. which he was going through. >> and what's sumilla said about the conversations with sierra caught the officers ear. because it did not match jarod story. the post relationship was more than just a strain. sumilla said ciara long confided in her that it was tumultuous. >> she would tell me that he would break or computers, break tvs. >> like i got to. back here is a break in the computer? >> yeah. >> jarred would lash out whenever he wouldn't get his name. >> did it ever get physical as far as you know?

>> she told me that. yes >> but you didn't see any bruising or scratching? >> yeah she did. but she would hide it. she is the type that would want to be strong. not of setter worried about her. >> as for jarod, he said that any stories abusive in his relationship was not true. >> where there any altercations the relationship between you and her? >> she threw some things. small things. like a remote control. >> jarod told us that anyone who knew her well knew that she would not put up with abuse. >> she was a very fierce woman, she had her way. she's not gonna let you tell you and different. and she's very determined. i could not see her being in an abusive relationship. >> of course, he says, they had plenty of scorching really to -- any says that they shared responsibility for the kids.

>> co-parenting. and very successfully. i think the biggest issue that we ever had was when she cut my sons hair. i did not really like that. he had big, puffy afro and he was really keen on it. and i liked it. >> but given what rapids investigators now heard. they were now very focused on jarod. did he have any opportunity to murder his acts? what with the kids and foul. >> jared said that he put the kids in the car and went back into her place to get the last of the theme. two kids sitting in the back of a car, a boy and a girl named six and seven. whether they see, whether they here in the next few moments of their lives? and importantly, what would they say about it? >> the police talk to the children the day that they discovered her body. >> what's the greater un? >> kindergarten. >> the kids confirmed that in some period of time, mommy that were in the apartment without them. >> why would they leave you in the car? >> you don't know? >> he never leaves us in the

car. >> here they are talking to a forensic interview or a few days later. >> why do you think that he made to stay in the car? >> maybe he's doing something? >> the six-year-old daughter says she got restless, and do what's six years old to. she said she got out of the car, looked at the door. looked into the mail. slot and peered inside. she told investigators that she saw her dad. >> what was he doing? >> i forgot. >> i mean, was he standing? was he sitting? was he? >> he was standing. >> does he just stand into nothing? did he have something in the sand? >> no. he was just in there doing nothing. >> she says he told her to go back to the car. but she says she picked him again. investigators were interested in what she saw. and when she said she heard.

>> mommy was still laughing. but she sounded like she was somewhere. that he wasn't in. that he was not in the living room. he was still upstairs. mom was still laughing, though. >> her brother says that he got out of the car to. and he also heard the laughter. or was it something else? >> what did you hear? >> laughing. some, almost screaming. but >> you heard screaming? >> yeah. >> tell me, did you hear, or where you just saying, screaming noises. or something else? >> like laughing screaming. >> screaming? what's in the world was going on inside her home while the children waited outside? >> coming up! >> if you are asking, did i think he did it? it was an absolute no. >> a new relationship for jarod, and new questions about those interviews with the children. >> those statements that come out later are, in my opinion, conditioning. >> i mean, police are suggesting something for the children to say. >> when dateline continues. to. >> when dateline continues. iscs for my safe driving th snapshot from progressive. you should see my savings -- they're nuts. you told us he was a skilled wheelman. no, i'm a wheelman. it's a family name on my mother's side.

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>> i'm jessica layton, with the hours top stories. a student at campbell's villanova city has been

arrested in connection with the killing of another student. the 18-year-old victim was found unresponsive in his dorm room early saturday morning. and, a judge in alabama is in critical condition after he was allegedly shot saturday by his son. the sun, convicted in connection with another shooting in 2014 was arrested and charged with first degree domestic violent. and now, back to dateline. now,. defense, taking their own look at what welcome back to dateline, i'm natalie morales. in a taped interview, ciara ingram young son said he heard his mother both lapping and screaming inside the home on the day that she was murdered. police were looking into the sierra's ex husband, jarod. now a team of supporters were about to rally to his defense. taking their own look at what the kids told detectives. continuing with what they saw, here's dennis murphy! >> in the weeks following serious murder, investigators compiled evidence. there were those police interviews with the children,

and they had her cell records. showing her phone went silent around the time that jarred was not the apartment. there wasn't a single phone call or text after 6:39 pm on june 2nd. and the only with of weed. that guy from indiana who was gonna help her move. >> she was murdered? >> well, his alibi checked out. and that left one person. jarod. so on july 1st, after her murder. >> i was leaving to go to work, they started getting out of their cars. put their hands like this. saying, don't move you're under arrest. >> he was charged with murder, spent the next 15 months in jail, before posting bond and being released. by then, he had lost custody of

his son and daughter. they had moved to indiana to be with her mom. >> are the kids taking your phone calls? because i'm sure you're trying to reach them. >> at this point, the point of my bond agreement is that i cannot speak with anybody and ciara family. including my children. >> so? >> so that's a moment and life that you can have. >> yes. >> he said he started attending church, and reaching out to old friends. like katie. a girl that she knew from high school. >> i also it's had a thing for him, even in high school. but it was just not good timing. it never was. >> this wasn't exactly great

timing either. after all, he was accused of murdering his ex-wife. >> what did you think? >> if you're asking. do i think he did it? it was an absolute no. why would they even think? this and how could it possibly have come to this? >> and you're saying that because of the guy you? know the character of the man? >> yeah. the character. how could it possibly, anybody think this? >> their relationship grew from a friendship, into something more. >> how did you decide you go and get married? >> we started talking about it and. it was a lot of back and forth. because, with something like this hanging over your head. do you wait till everything is over and then get married? it doesn't sound sensible. >> katie disagreed. >> i basically told him, i'm ready. i'll marry you. >> they began their married life together in limbo. waiting for jarred to go on trial. he still had not been indicted.

what was taking so long? jarod and katie kept their anguish quiet. >> a lot of people in the church another story today? >> no. >> then, january 2017, more than four years after the murder. the indictment came. down a trial date was set. no more secrets now. >> what did you think when you heard? >> in my mind, initially, it was that it was impossible. >> debbie is katy's mom. laura and jim are church friends. >> did you really think this man man's a killer? >> no. >> debbie? >> not for a second. for very notion of considering him capable of this is beyond my belief. there's simply no way i can apply my brain to that. >> the support wasn't just

moral. the church friends often to help anywhere they could. >> we had two or three people come up and say, what can we do? unlike wealth hurry. but one of them said, come on, there's something we can do. what about all the paperwork? couldn't we use help with that? >> i was like that would be wonderful. >> that paperwork was the case against jarod. miles of documents, police reports, audio and video recordings. and to mount a defense, they would need to understand it. >> my lawyer was very good, but he has a small practice. him and his wife. so as far as legwork, there is not 100 paralegals going around to do legal research for him. >> jarod and katy transform their kitchen into a war room.

and those church friends became a legal assistance of course. they vowed to be objective. >> i was a true believer in his character. okay? >> but if the evidence persuaded you ever wise? >> i would've gone with the evidence. >> they just give it up the work. jill, a software with, took a crack at the cell phone records. >> and it took me some study to figure this out but, it came down to numbers. simple math. >> according to the cell records, sierra was alive and on her phone at 6:39 pm. three minutes later, at 6:42 pm, his cell records indicate

that he is still at the apartment. and 26 minutes after that, his phone pigs of a tower that they estimated is a 15 to 20 minute drive away from her apartment. >> there is not enough time for him to have committed the crime. >> the telephone persuades it to be. >> the map doesn't, work it just doesn't work. >> then jarred supporters looked at the bloody crime scene photos. which raise more questions in their minds. >> how do you walk out of an apartment without completely showering, changing your clothes. and doing all that? that would add even more time? >> tiktok. tiktok. you have to get to that other tower. >> absolutely. >> he was awake, he did not change clothes. none of his clothes wherever found with any evidence on them. >> the friends then turn to those interviews with the kids. and they transcribed every word. including the interview where jarred sun said that he heard screaming. >> what did you hear? >> laughing. some, almost screaming. >> you heard screaming?

>> yes. >> they notice the interview took place five days after her body was found. but in the police file, the friends found an earlier interview. the suns sorry about what he heard on that occasion was completely different. here's that interview. >> did you hear anything when daddy was inside? >> i didn't hear nothing. >> jarred supporters wondered where the son could've gotten the idea of screaming. the first time it comes up on the tapes, is in a question from police at just hours after they found her body. >> was mama screaming? or daddy screaming and hollering? >> there is absolutely nothing incriminating about the initial testimonies. >> two young witnesses with powerful stories to tell. >> where those children coach to give details of the story? >> never. >> when dateline continues! er. >> when dateline continues!

shh. [ sneezing ]

[ flatulence ] destiny calls for you to take the next step. what are you talking about? i've already taken all the steps. haven't i? he who resorts to violence now, will only find more violence later. hooray! ♪ violence makes our tummy's tingle ♪ no, no, no, i think you're misunderstanding. [ groaning ] dennis murphy: in the spring of 2018, nearly six years after ciara ingram was brutally murdered, jarod ingram entered a muskogee county courtroom in columbus, georgia, to stand trial as her accused killer. but he wasn't alone. you're behind your husband in the-- mm-hmm. dennis murphy: --church pews there in the courtroom, huh? >> in the spring of 2018, nearly six years after ciara ingram was brutally murdered, jarod ingram entered a muskoka county courtroom to stand as

the accused. >> but he was not alone. >> you he was -- >> was there a point that you show solidarity that you had a lot of people? >> we thought so. we invited everybody to come. and just let the jury see how much he is loved. and how much support and love that he has sitting behind him. >> but skokie county district attorney hopes the jury would be persuaded not by his supporters but rather by the cold hard facts of the case. >> is it your belief that jarod murdered his ex wife ciara? while the kids were waiting in the car? >> and the motivation for this was wet? >> he did not want her to move to indiana it will do everything to prevent that. >> the prosecutor called friends like sumilla who testified that sierra told her numerous times that jarred was threatening and violent. >> was that hard for you? >> no because i wanted justice

for her. it had been too long, so i had to do my part. >> to -- >> know i couldn't look at him. i was too disgusted. i hate him. i hate to say but i do. and, i just did not look. >> the prosecution said that jarod had another motive. four to the tune of $13,000 and back child support payments. the positive q shun also argued that the prosecution pointed at jarod. they found his fingerprints on her cell phone. the one last news about the same time that jarod placed him at her apartment. >> so did he have enough time to do this? >> yes. he had enough time. we know that his phone was at the apartment, at the time herds have gone silent. he knew where the bleach was. the cleanup that he had to do. >> we're not talking about extensive cleanup right?

>> no he did. not throwing bleach around the apartment. trying to cleaner up a little bit. >> he had steadily maintained that he had not killed her. but the prosecution found someone that said that he told her him a different story. >> he told me about how he killed his wife. about how he did it. >> a confession. he testified that jarrett confided in him when they shared a cell. they detained jarred's words in this police recording. >> and he said he just snapped, it was something like that. >> this witness was able to give details, this particular person who was in jail at the time of the murder. anyway that he would have known this information unless he received it from someone who knew it. >> but the star witnesses of the prosecution whether his own children. >> you hadn't seen them in some time. >> that's correct. >> do they look the same? >> no. >> were you making eye contact? send the many messages? >> i'm looking at them.

they're not making any eye contact with me. i did mouth, i love you. that was about all i thought i could get away with. >> the children, then 12 and 13 years old, told the jury with clear i detail what happened that last day they saw their mother alive. and the details were more damning than ever. that's when jarred's daughter testified about picking through that nail slot. >> what did the little girl sly? >> she sees her father standing, he is changing his shirt. and he has a white bottle beside him on the floor that she doesn't know, she doesn't know what it is. but a white bottle beside him. >> a white bottle? bleach. a change of clothes. those sounded like new elements. >> where those children coach to give details of the story? >> never. >> was a different years later than and been at the beginning? >> they were more details later. and more things clarified.

but the children were never coached. they were forensically interviewed, intentionally so there would be nothing put in their heads. and they were never coached on what to say at the stand. >> are you persuaded that that little girl saw her father changing his clothing during the cleanup? and that the little boy heard screams. heard is mother's day in declaration that it were? >> yes. so sad that they have to see and hear that. but yes that is what they saw and heard. >> but there was another version of what happened that day, and the jury was about to weigh the credibility of that storyteller. >> coming up! >> why did you take the stand? >> i've been waiting six years to be able to stand in front of a jury and judge and say i did not do this. >> who would the jury believe? the children? or their father? >> what if, this jury says you're guilty? whatever? >> when dateline continues! ne ? alice: mm-hmm. chantel: where we live? alice + chantel: say whaaaaaaat?!?! anncr: finance and buy your car with carvana today. covid-19? i'm not waiting. if it's covid, paxlovid. paxlovid is an oral treatment for adults with mild-to-moderate covid-19 and a high-risk factor for it becoming severe. it does not prevent covid-19.

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welcome back. jarod ingram was on trial for the murder of his ex-wife ciara. and the couple's two children were the prosecution's star witnesses. on the stand, their recollections of that traumatic day included surprising new details. but jarred had a surprise of his own, a risky move that he believed would prove his innocence. welcome back, jarred ingraham was on trial for the wearer of his ex wife ciara. and the couples to children where the prosecution's star witnesses. on the stand, the recollections of that traumatic day included surprising new details. but jarod had a surprise of his own. a risky move that he believed would prove his innocence. with the conclusion of what they saw, here's dennis murphy. >> 12 jurors, sitting in

judgment of jarod ingram. so back to where we began. >> did you take a butter knife and plunged into her neck and kill her? >> no. >> while the kids were outside? >> absolutely not. >> poured bleach on her? >> now. >> that did not happen? >> no. >> that has been your story for the past how long? >> six years. >> it had been six years since the crime, six years of suspicion. but his attorney said it had taken investigators mere hours to come to a conclusion. >> when you get the messy cases, you get a lot of them. and there's almost an automatic that you go, and you go to the foam or spouse our current spouse and that is the man. we're gonna make it fit. >> and, the defense argued. there wasn't a shred of physical evidence linking him to the murder. no dna, no prints on the

possible murder weapon. nothing. in that bloody scene in her apartment, all the prosecution pointed to us his fingerprints on her cell phone. >> he was over at the town house quite a bit. it would not have been uncommon for his fingerprints to be all over this place. >> jarod says sure he used her phone that day. >> i just remember my daughter handing me the phone. saying that it was her older brother in indiana, and they wanted to talk to me. >> and they weren't worried all all about the jailhouse snitch. >> he was totally not credible. as most snitches are not. because if you talk with any jurors, they do not believe them. i mean, you don't call somebody and talk about another crime

unless you expect to get something out of it. >> they live right here. >> but what about the kids in their ever important stories? the defense questioned the new details. that changing his shirt. the white bottle of what could've been bleach. >> you're saying that the cops in the case or seeding the story? coaching the kids? >> i absolutely believe that they were asking leading questions that were leading them to conclusions that they did not have. >> his attorney was confident that the jurors would understand the facts if they heard from him directly. >> he was gonna make a good witness most particularly, because he was. there >> you took the stand. always risky. rarely advised. but you did it. >> there was no question. >> why? once you take the stand? >> i've been waiting six years to be able to stand up in front of a jury and a judge and say, i didn't do this. >> but it exposes you too aggressive cross examination by

the prosecutor? >> it does. and that was rough. it seemed like he was doing everything in his power to get a rise out of me. >> provoke if so the jury can? >> exactly. show the jury the monster. >> he faced the prosecutor's questions for more than a dozen hours over three days. >> so this is a poor set of facts that have come together against you. you are the last knowing adult who has seen her. the kids are saying that they've heard screaming in the house. the father acting very suspiciously. bleach. everything seems to be consistent with you going in and telling her and doing a rough cleanup. and then coming out. >> absolutely not. if i had done a quick, rough clean up. there would've been something on me, or something in the car. the police had the car in their custody. combed it inch to an inch. they found no blood, they found no bleach. that is impossible. >> he denied that he had ever been violent where ciara. the defense pointing out that there had been not so much of the single report to the police. and no, child support was not a problem. they said they were working about it. and he had not been upset about his ex's report either. >> jarred is calm, cool, very

intelligent. he is our evidence. >> the jury went out to deliberate. two days pass without a verdict. then, in an odd cork of the court calendar everyone took at the a week of. no decision. >> whatever this jury says your guilty? you know, i, we couldn't stop hugging. we are pretty much always like that. but there is, i guess, a little more emotion behind it. because what if. >> jarrett was charged with the commission of four felonies. including murder. >> what were you hoping for in the court? >> that they would find him guilty. a bloody that. it took less than two hours once the jury went back at it. >> you're watching the faces as they filed? when >> i am. very intently. and, nobody is given anything away. >> and then white?

you hear the words? >> they start reading off the counts one of the time. and, it's just not guilty. not guilty. not guilty. >> jarod ingram not guilty of the murder of ciara ingram. >> i started crying. i have never in my life cried in happiness. never. and, that moment i cried in happiness. >> for her friends and family, the reaction was much different. >> i was surprised. and i think that my surprise came from the children's testimony. i don't believe for a minute that anybody coach them, into saying any of that. >> they told the jury what they saw and heard. >> yeah, absolutely believe that. >> and if you believe it, that means that he's guilty? >> right. >> do you think that he murdered her? >> i do. >> does she need justice? >> she does. i don't know how they're going to get it. >> but the prosecutor says that not guilty is not the same as innocent. >> i do think that he is the murderer, and we would not have tried him if we did not have confidence in that. >> jarod and katie said that they are thankful to the friends who quit him. they are now fighting for the custody of the children, who have been with the mother for six years. >> the frustration of still not being in contact with my children has been hard. >> is it better at this point given all the poison that you say has been put before them? poisoning their minds before you? it is a better just to let them be raised by their grandmother?

and maybe later on in life that you can catch up with them. >> absolutely not. >> but they think you kill their mother. >> i don't think know if they think that or not. i think they've just been trained to hate and fear me. it would be better for them to hear this relationship as soon as possible. >> the children, what they saw. what they heard. what they remembered. sierra's friends say what's more important now is what they know about the woman lost on that day. >> if your kids start to forget her, the memory dims. what would you sit down and tell them about their mother? >> how much she loved them. she did. those kids wear everything to her. they were her world. >> that is all for this edition of datel