andrea canning: for diana and travis, the fight is over. they finally got the justice they wanted. but the loss of their son todd remains. i hope he understands that we did everything we could to make sure that he got justice. andrea canning: his dad does find comfort in one thing. well, i got to tell him i loved him many times. love you too, dad. hello, i'm craig melvin, and this is "dateline." hello, i'm craig melvin, and this is "dateline." sur. it still is. things like that don't happen to small town people. i was very scared. i was worried that i was going to be next.

craig melvin: he was the friendly farmer about to make it big on reality tv. he loved being on tv. craig melvin: a success to celebrate after so much loss. his first wife killed in an awful fire. colette bousson: i was devastated. this is my sister. she was just a sweet, wonderful, giving person. craig melvin: they called it a horrible accident. but here's the thing-- accidents just seem to keep happening, deadly ones. these thoughts kept coming up. an intuition that something just was not right. craig melvin: wife number two had a growing suspicion. and she also had a plan. i had actually watched an episode of "dateline," and i had this revelation. craig melvin: a dangerous mission. was her own life at risk? mike karlsen: this is a mystery novel that won't end. you couldn't write this story line. [music playing]

hello, and welcome to "dateline." the death of a young mother in a house fire was almost too much for her family to bear. then years later, another devastating accident and another loved one gone. was this just a string of brutally bad luck or the work of a calculating killer? here's andrea canning with "deadly deceit." andrea canning: snapshots of a time gone by, capturing a life that could have been. now all that's left are the burned out remnants of a life that's gone. i've seen the destruction to my family. i've seen my parents fall apart. i didn't think my life was going to turn out like this at all. mike karlsen: had this not come to a head now, the mystery would have lived on. the karlsen family would have always wondered--

what really happened? andrea canning: the story begins here around the finger lakes, a stunning part of upstate new york. this is where the karlsen family put down its roots. woman: all right, karl. andrea canning: and it's here that karl karlsen brought his bride christina to meet his family in 1986. his brother mike took to her right away. she was small. tiny little girl. she was not very tall at all. a very simple, sweetheart of a kid. andrea canning: cristina and karl had met in north dakota, where karl was stationed in the air force. when he was discharged, they came to his home to make a life. was she a good fit for the karlsen family? absolutely, yeah. she would give it out, and as well as take it. laugh on the way. woman: stand right there, chris.

karl, get with her. andrea canning: they were a cute couple. christina, the little cheerleader from california, and karl, the rough and ready country boy. christina's sister colette liked the way karl made chris laugh. colette bousson: they would laugh and joke. and he was this big barrel chested guy and my sister was only 4'11". andrea canning: he got work at the local stone quarry. and it wouldn't be long before he and christina had three kids-- erin, levi, and katie. mike karlsen: she'd be on the floor-- playing with them, or teaching them, or instructing them, or coddling them. and it wasn't just her kids. it was all of our kids. woman: look at those two lovely people over there. andrea canning: christina seemed happy. but karl wanted more than a life working the quarry. and christina's father, art alexander, offered a ticket out. a job with a future working in his heating and air conditioning company. i said, you know, if you ever need a job, just come on out to california. and you'll have a job, because you can work with me. andrea canning: so they moved all the way across the country

to murphys, an old mining town in the sierra foothills. karl found them a ramshackle house at the top of this long, winding road. it wasn't much, but it was closer to collette. and christina made it special. colette bousson: so she went into home decorating mode, and started painting and sewing curtains. and, you know, every time i'd go up, i'm like, wow, this looks really good. woman: karl, thank you, darling. andrea canning: christina and karl celebrated christmas with christina's family in 1990. but just a week later, their lives would change forever. it was new year's day, 1991. and i come outside and saw the smoke from the house. i could see where the smoke was out there. andrea canning: karl and christina's house was on fire. karl said he had been in the garage, but he rushed to the house. he pulled the kids out of their bedroom windows where they were napping. but christina was trapped in the bathroom, flames raging just outside the bathroom door. the window was boarded shut from the inside.

by the time art arrived, the paramedics were already on the scene. he got an ambulance. i looked around. i said, where's chris? then they told me. one of the kids said, she's-- she's with god. or she's-- the angels took her, or something like that. and that's when i-- because i don't ever-- [sobbing] she wasn't there. andrea canning: art could only imagine the terror of her last moments on earth. he then placed one of the toughest calls he's ever made. i need to tell you something. he said there was a fire out at chris' house. and he said, everyone got out but chris. and i said, are you kidding me? and he said, no. andrea canning: back in upstate new york, the karlsen family got the terrible news. so mike and his sister-in-law flew to california to help karl and the children, who were all under the age of 7.

mike karlsen: i said, i'll help what i can help. tell me what to do. and-- he was just numb. he was more of a zombie. he just said, i don't know. are you thinking, how in the world is my brother going to take care of these three little kids? right. i had no clue. andrea canning: karl spoke briefly with fire investigators. he said he wasn't sure how the fire started. but he knew why it moved so fast-- the pets had knocked over a container full of kerosene a day or two before. karl didn't share many other details with friends and family. and mike sensed it was hard for karl to deal with anything important. so after a while, mike pressed him a bit. what are we doing? if we're going to stay in california, you need to arrange for an apartment. you've got to get supplies, get the house settled. because the kids need some form of stability here. and that's when he said, i just-- just want to go home. andrea canning: so four days after the fire, karl packed up his three children

and flew back to upstate new york. it was yet another blow for christina's grieving family. colette bousson: my sister and i had made a commitment to each other that our kids were going to grow up knowing each other. and then it was stripped in five days. andrea canning: all christina's father had left of his beloved daughter was this box of charred photos that he rescued from the house. reminders of her and the grandchildren he loved. after her death i was probably more dead than alive. i didn't pay attention to a lot of things that i should have. but i just muddle through. i didn't care. andrea canning: hobbled by grief, he also felt a helpless, and maybe pointless, anger toward his son-in-law. and wondered, why didn't karl do more to save christina that terrible day? art alexander: there was a pick laying in front of a tree out front. if somebody wanted to pull a board off the window, all they had to do was take a pick and pull it off.

andrea canning: for the children-- aaron, katie, and levi-- art would contain his anger and keep the family peace. but what happened in that little house on the hill would come back to haunt christina's family in the years to come. another painful loss is about to hit this family. one that none of them expected. coming up. when "dateline" continues. ♪♪ when your child has moderate-to-severe eczema, it's okay to for them to show off. show off their clearer skin and noticeably less itch with dupixent. because children 6 months and older with eczema have plenty of reasons to show off their skin. with dupixent, the #1 prescribed biologic by dermatologists and allergists, they can stay ahead of their eczema. it helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body

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andrea canning: the finger lakes region of upstate new york was karl karlsen's family home. and now he was back to stay. here in seneca county, he would rebuild his life-- among the farms, the fields, the vineyards, and old friends. does everyone in this area know the karlsen family? probably most of seneca county knows one or all of us. andrea canning: karl's wife was gone, but he still had his three little kids to think about. mike karlsen: he went back to work at the stone quarry for a while. and then saw an opportunity at a local glass manufacturing plant that had just opened. was there a lot of concern for karl having just lost his wife? i think everybody realized that this poor guy isn't going to do it on his own. andrea canning: so people helped out. here in seneca county, karl karlsen was surrounded by a big extended family,

in a place where the karlsen name really meant something. and it all seemed to come together for him when he met cindy best at a line dancing party in 1992. he had told me that he had lost his wife in a fire, and he was a single dad raising three kids on his own. andrea canning: cindy got herself an instant family when she married karl in august of 1993. they bought a farm soon after that. and between the farm and the glass job, karl was busy. cindy was desperate to have a child of her own, so she and karl went through in-vitro fertilization. you were going to have the baby you'd always wanted. mm-hm. happiest time in my life. andrea canning: and the big kids were happy, too, when their baby brother alex was born. as the years went by, alex says he and his big brother, levi, developed a special bond. he was always there for me. we always loved to hang out together. andrea canning: levi, erin, and katie's family from california

stayed in touch. they even visited. their aunt collette got to know the girls and got a kick out of levi. colette bousson: well, levi had this really quirky little personality. he was a prankster. but he also had my sister's very sweet spirit. woman: what's the matter, levi? andrea canning: levi's life wasn't easy. he had problems in school. and he and karl began to butt heads. mike karlsen: i think levi bucked the system a little bit. he was a typical teenage boy who knew all the answers. but it seemed the more levi struggled in his world, karl held him down rather than try to pick him up. andrea canning: the rift widened. and in may of 2002, when levi was only 17, he left home. his uncle mike watched it happen with a tinge of sadness. he dropped out of school, which didn't help things at all. he jumped and didn't look where he was jumping to. and so he didn't have a job. and he floated from house to house, to a different family members.

andrea canning: levi eventually met a girl named cassie and was living with her when disaster struck the karlsen family again. it happened in november of 2002. as cindy remembers it, karl was just coming to bed. he sat upright and kind of looked out the window and said, oh my god. call 9-1-1. the barn's on fire. andrea canning: cindy did call 9-1-1, and her brother-in-law. what did karl say to you when you arrived? he mentioned that the horses were still in there. andrea canning: the karlsen's had been breeding belgian horses. their loss and the loss of the old barn was devastating to the family. levi exploded. he said some terrible things and he and karl came to blows. cindy best: levi got in his truck to get away from karl and karl chased after him. i was yelling at karl, you know, just let him go. leave him alone. let him go. andrea canning: but levi was never able to stay away for long. he and cassie included karl and the rest of the family

in their wedding in 2003. the young couple soon had two daughters. but it may have been too much, too fast. the marriage didn't last. it was just a bad divorce. neither one of them was nice to each other. andrea canning: but like many kids levi started to grow up. he got his ged, started working, and tried hard to be a good dad. and perhaps in being a father, his anger with his own father began to soften. i think he'd rounded the corner a little bit. we could see some sort of a path and a direction for his life. andrea canning: levi had his own place now. but he would drop by the old house to see the family and help karl with some work. on november 20th, 2008, levi came over to work on a truck in cindy and karl's new barn. cindy remembers she and karl had just come home from a funeral. they'd been gone for about four hours. karl told me that he was going to go out and let levi know we were home and check on him. andrea canning: cindy went into the house.

suddenly, karl came rushing out of the barn. he came banging on the window and the door, and told me to call 9-1-1. craig melvin: coming up. mike karlsen: the truck was jacked in a very precarious, dangerous scenario. craig melvin: yet another deadly accident? when "dateline" continues.

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andrea canning: another catastrophe had struck the karlsen's. levi was trapped under a truck in the barn. karl's brother mike rushed over. they were just bringing levi out on the stretcher and putting him in the ambulance when i got there. andrea canning: levi was taken to the hospital, but the family knew it was hopeless. 17 years after his mother's terrible death, levi karlsen had died at the age of 23. cindy says karl came unhinged. he was actually, like, throwing himself up against the wall. and he was on the ground. andrea canning: so many tears, and so many questions. how could levi have been so careless?

mike karlsen: we went into the barn to see. the truck was jacked in a very precarious, dangerous scenario. no blocks under it. a flimsy little jack holding it up. were you thinking, levi should have known better than this? absolutely. andrea canning: he knows his way around. absolutely. andrea canning: now once again, karl karlsen had to pull himself out of the depths of tragedy. it would take a while, but this time he seemed to come out of it a changed man. karl got fired up by a new plan to start a gourmet duck farm. and began raising thousands of ducks to sell to new york restaurants. he and cindy even found themselves starring in an episode of "pitching in," a food network canada series. i think he had these visions that he was going to be this famous person-- rich and famous. andrea canning: cindy watched her husband's ego swell with all the attention. and she worried-- it had been less than three years

since levi died, yet karl seemed to be having the time of his life. was that normal? just like an intuition that something just was not right. andrea canning: she kept thinking about the day levi died. it turns out mike was uneasy about it, too. what did karl say to you after levi's death? not a lot. i went to the hospital. and i was in the room with levi. then karl came in the room. and i don't know what i wanted him to say. but he says, how do i explain this? what did he mean by that? no idea. andrea canning: mike didn't share his misgivings about karl with cindy. but she had plenty of her own. she fought them for a while, until one day she had to admit to herself. oh my god, i think he did it. you know-- but then i would also talk myself out of it. i would tell myself, you know, you're crazy. we weren't even home at the time.

andrea canning: officials called it an accident. and yet-- again, these thoughts kept coming up. i kept sinking more into a depression. and eventually ended up using alcohol as a way to cope. andrea canning: cindy confided in a couple of friends. they dismissed her fear. but someone did suggest she call a private investigator. that's how she met steve brown. she walked in the door and she looked very frail-- physically, emotionally. just sickly, weak. andrea canning: cindy told the private investigator about her crazy fear that her husband had killed his own son. cindy proceeded to tell me what happened that day in 2008. andrea canning: and she remembered something. before she and karl left for the funeral, he went to the barn to see levi. and for a few minutes, he was alone there with his son. karl said he wanted to check on levi before they left.

and karl had came back to the vehicle and they drove off to the funeral. and, you know, karl seemed fine the entire time. normal behavior. andrea canning: but when they came home from the funeral, cindy noticed something else. cindy best: we got out of the car and the first thing that i heard was the radio in the barn. and it was very loud. and it was set on country music. anybody that knew levi, he would not be caught dead listening to country music. andrea canning: whoever turned the radio on, it probably wasn't levi. could it have been karl? the private investigator found the story troubling. and it set his mind racing about karl. i was pretty quiet the rest of the night, just dissecting how could that be? how could somebody do something like that? andrea canning: cindy had thought no one would believe her. but now, private investigator steve brown did. he set out to examine phone records and insurance policies.

but he also wanted to meet karl karlsen. so he and cindy came up with a plan. but it would require her to take a big risk. craig melvin: coming up. i had actually watched an episode of "dateline." and i had this revelation. craig melvin: when "dateline" continues.

hi, i'm richard lui with a news update. president biden will travel to florida sunday for the second time in as many weeks. he will tour damage caused by hurricane milton. at least 17 people were confirmed dead in that state. vice president kamala harris released her medical records from her white house position. and a detailed letter, the physician deemed her in excellent health. former president trump pledged in august he would do the same but has yet to do so.

for now, back to dateline. . cindy karlsen believed that her husband karl had killed his son, levi. so did the private investigator she hired to look into the young man's death. armed with a few tactics she actually learned from "dateline," cindy would soon take on a dangerous mission confronting the man she feared. once again, here's andrea canning with "deadly deceit." andrea canning: in november 2011, private investigator steve brown had decided it was time to meet karl karlsen. so he and cindy came up with an audacious plan. and i said, well, what if i go undercover and befriend karl, if you will, as a marketer or a promoter for your duck business? andrea canning: it was a giant step for cindy, and risky.

what if karl found out who steve really was? no clue this was a private investigator. cindy best: correct. right. and when he came to the house, i had to pretend like i was just meeting him for the first time. i just said, you know, where are you now, where do you want to be in a couple of years. and karl started telling his vision-- his dream-- for the duck business, if you will. andrea canning: after that, steve said he and karl would drive around the area, talking business mostly. but one moment stood out when karl was talking about killing farm animals. he said, i like the old fashioned way. and he came up behind me, and lifted my neck up, and went like this with his hand. he said, messy, very physical. and i said, karl, we're talking about ducks and chickens, aren't we? andrea canning: steve didn't want to contact the police until he had more evidence. but in february 2012, the decision was taken out of his hands when cindy confided in her cousin. i told her my suspicions, but i

asked her not to say anything. andrea canning: despite that, the cousin promptly called the sheriff's office. john clear was the detective who took the call. he wasted no time in contacting cindy karlsen. how did that go? the first thing she said was, thank god you called. thank god you called. you know, i was so relieved. detective clear met with cindy karlsen and steve brown. and he paid particular attention when they told him that levi, who never had much money, had taken out an enormous life insurance policy. the most useful piece of information was about a $700,000 plus insurance policy that was paid out on levi karlsen. andrea canning: detective clear learned that on november 3rd, 2008, karl helped levi sign up for the policy. the beneficiary? karl's himself. he actually takes him to see an insurance agent, and takes out approximately a $400,000 life insurance policy

with a $300,000 accident rider. 17 days later, the fatal accident happens. andrea canning: the money was supposed to go to levi's two daughters, but detective clear learned the girls never got a dime. there was money spent on a lot-- a whole multitude of things, home improvement. and karl spent a lot of money on the duck business. there were some huge payouts on that. andrea canning: as he dug deeper, detective clear discovered that karl karlsen had collected on a number of insurance policies over the years. in 1986 karl's new dodge charger caught fire. karl collected $10,000. the fire that killed the horses and took down the barn paid out nearly $115,000. clear also learned that karlsen had taken out policies on levi's two little girls. karl had no idea he was being investigated. but cindy still wanted to get away from him, so she moved out of the house.

after she did, karl sent her a text saying that he had heard she had been snooping around. she says it scared her. it was a threatening text. i can't remember exactly what he said, but it was enough to make me feel like, i just couldn't do it anymore. she immediately called her son alex, then 16, and told him they had to leave town. she came and got me. and i came out to her car and i saw that she had packed all of our suitcases. and our dogs were in the car. and she had told me that there is an investigation going on, because they thought my dad had killed my brother. andrea canning: they started living in hotels. cindy dodged karl's calls and so did alex. but after a few months of that, cindy decided to do something a little more proactive. and she had an inspiration. i had actually watched an episode of "dateline," where this woman was recording her mother.

and i had this revelation. and i said, you know, i'm going to start recording conversations with karl. i thought if i could just get him to confess about the barn fire, that that would show his character. andrea canning: cindy knew karl wanted to see her, maybe get back together. so she went to meet him at a local restaurant with a small voice recorder tucked under her bra. i just started telling him that i was considering getting back together with him, but that i couldn't even consider it unless he started telling me the truth of things that he did. and he said to me, it sounds like you want me to say that i had something to do with levi's death. well, at that moment, i knew that-- we skipped right over the barn fire. i might be able to get him to confess about levi. i had asked him, so did you push the truck or was it hard to push? and he said no, it wasn't.

andrea canning: was that a confession? cindy felt like it was. she rushed the recording over to the police but it wasn't audible and therefore useless. still, detective clear believed her enough to ask her to do it again. at our request, she agreed to be wired up to do a second interview under controlled circumstances. andrea canning: now she was working with the police to take down her own husband. she got away with it once, would karl catch on the next time around? craig melvin: coming up. we had to convince him that, you know, it wasn't a trap. craig melvin: but could she? when "dateline" continues. hey, get your head in the game, son. [music playing] the scout from football college is up in the stands. maybe i'd rather go to school for insurance. i didn't raise no insurance man. but you did, dad. football's your passion. but mine is providing around-the-clock protection to progressive customers who bundle home and auto. jamie, we need you out here for football.

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ask your eczema specialist andrea canning: cindy karlsen was willing to play the sympathetic wife with the man she had come to fear and hate. that's how badly she wanted her husband out of her life and locked away. so when police asked her to wear a wire and meet him for lunch again, she jumped at the chance. i was actually calm, because i knew that karl believed my story of wanting to get back together. andrea canning: abigail's restaurant near seneca falls would be the meeting place. it was mid-november, 2012. you had undercover officers in the restaurant? we had four in there. were they diners? were they waiters? diners. andrea canning: there was very little evidence against karl karlsen, so the detectives desperately needed cindy to get him to repeat

what she claimed was his confession to levi's murder. but obviously, karl was suspicious. i had to convince him that, you know, it wasn't a trap. i offered for him to check my purse. andrea canning: and then she got him back on the subject of that day in 2008. of that day in 2008. detective clear was struck by that exchange. how could a father call his son's death an opportunity?

at that moment, i felt i understood him to a degree. this is someone who doesn't think like we do. andrea canning: that said, this exchange with cindy was no confession. and the evidence so far was circumstantial-- the insurance, the radio, and karl's visit to the barn. still, detectives believed they had enough to bring him in for questioning. it was the moment of truth. if karlsen refused to speak or if he called in a lawyer, the case could evaporate. but karlsen couldn't resist talking about himself. i mean, we were talking about his favorite subject-- him. andrea canning: karl said he found levi dead after returning home, just like he told the police in 2008.

karlsen insisted levi's death was an accident. it couldn't have been anything else. detective clear decided to change tactics. there's not a conscience to play to. there's not empathy to play to. but what do we play to? what does he have? well, he has an ego, and it's a big one. so that's the strategy that we shifted to. which is i gave him a lot of sympathy and a lot of attention. andrea canning: it seemed to work. as the hours ticked by, karlsen's story began to change. and then he dropped a bombshell. version two came out where he admitted that he-- that levi was already dead before they left to go to the funeral. at that point, there's no doubt in my mind what happened here.

andrea canning: detectives continued to push and as the interrogation stretched into its eighth hour, karlsen finally broke. he admitted he didn't just find levi under the truck. he saw the truck fall. and he may have even caused it to fall. and then, clear pushed a little more. and that's when karl admitted he left his son to die. so he wasn't painting himself as a cold, calculated killer? no, he seemed to think it was a better picture

to say that i accidentally caused this thing to fall, and then walked away and left him to die on the floor. andrea canning: karl karlsen was charged with second degree murder. not long after that, he got a lawyer. and when they came to court, karl used a walker, claiming old injuries were getting the best of him. his attorney said police coerced karl and the cindy tapes violated spousal privilege. but the judge denied the defense motion to suppress and the trial was set for november 6th, 2013. all these years, mike karlsen had misgivings about karl's behavior. but after watching the interrogation video, his worst fear was cemented-- that his own brother was a killer. and now he had a new fear. as the trial approached, did you think that the evidence was overwhelming in that it was pretty clear karl was going to go away? no.

i was probably more scared as the trial approached that it wasn't a slam dunk. craig melvin: coming up-- a surprise inside and outside the courtroom. we've been waiting just about 24 years now for some closure. craig melvin: when "dateline" continues. dupixent can help people with asthma breathe better in as little as 2 weeks. so this is better. even this. dupixent is an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma that's not for sudden breathing problems. dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. tell your doctor right away if you have rash, chest pain, worsening shortness of breath, tingling or numbness in your limbs. tell your doctor about new or worsening joint aches and pain or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines including steroids, without talking to your doctor. ask your specialist about dupixent.

without talking to your doctor. andrea canning (voiceover): in the winter of 2012, as the seneca county district attorney was preparing to prosecute karl karlsen for the murder of his son levi, new york investigators had become deeply interested in that long ago california fire that killed levi's mother, christina. they were suspicious about karlsen's behavior that day. christina's family was more than suspicious. they were certain karl killed christina. jeff arnold was the new york state investigator. he thought so, too. andrea canning: why did you take such an interest in christina's death when you're here in new york state, that case is in california? it became personal because she's just a great human being who had everything to look forward in life. andrea canning (voiceover): investigator arnold was asked to help out early in the karlsen investigation. and he took a particular interest in christina and the fire that killed her. just imagine yourself. you're in this bathroom taking a bath, and you smell smoke.

and it's coming through your door, and there's this inferno sitting outside the door. and you turn to the only window in the bathroom, and it's covered with a sheet of plywood. andrea canning (voiceover): investigator arnold says that pretty much everything karl karlsen has ever said about the fire is a lie, beginning with the kerosene that fueled it. he says that the kerosene got spilled in the house on sunday. andrea canning: that was a few days before the fire. but a california arson investigator found carpet stains that showed a second kerosene spill happened moments before the fire started. investigator arnold said that could only mean one thing. karl poured the kerosene all over the clothes and all over the floor and ignited it within, you know, within seconds after pouring it. andrea canning (voiceover): back in 1991, karlsen told law enforcement it could have been a dryer, a heater, or a utility light

that touched off the blaze. none of these happened. andrea canning (voiceover): arnold learned the arson investigator could find no accidental ignition source. the investigator's conclusion-- the fire was deliberately set. and the coroner's report said christina died of smoke inhalation as opposed to burns, raising the question, didn't karlsen have time to save his wife? he's standing on the porch within a foot or two from this plywood-covered window, where christine is in dire need of his help. he doesn't even reach for one tool. andrea canning (voiceover): arnold knew that christina's family had always wondered about that window and about some other things that happened after she died. colette told police something christina's little daughter, erin, said right after the fire. she said, i heard mommy calling for daddy, but daddy just drove away. so within an hour, you know, i'm hearing my niece telling me, hey,

mom was alive when he drove away. andrea canning (voiceover): just four days after the fire, karl karlsen abruptly left california with his three kids, erin, katie, and levi. sources in california told us that once karlsen was back in new york, investigators begged their bosses to let them follow him there for questioning. but they say they were told no, the county couldn't afford it. the investigators wanted to go to new york. calaveras county wouldn't let them spend the money. andrea canning (voiceover): just weeks after they left, colette learned that karl had taken out a $200,000 insurance policy on christina's life. and the policy paid off. colette came to believe-- and investigator arnold agrees-- that karlsen killed christina for the same reason he killed levi-- money. two decades after christina's death, as karl karlsen dueled with detectives in that seneca

county interrogation room, he suddenly had to face questions about that long ago fire from a well-prepared jeff arnold. andrea canning (voiceover): arnold was looking for inconsistencies, lies. he asked karlsen about the window. we have a witness that shows up at the house on the 31st of december, one day prior to the fire. and that window was not boarded up. andrea canning (voiceover): karlsen also told arnold he suffered awful injuries as he rescued his children, and that the fire was so intense, he couldn't save christina.

andrea canning (voiceover): arnold had evidence that karlsen escaped the fire with only a small burn, so now after he listened to karl talk about the fire, the window, and the rescue of his children, he fired back.

andrea canning (voiceover): karlsen insisted his first wife's death was a tragic accident. that's the same thing he was saying about levi's death. but on november 6, 2013, the very day his trial in levi's case was supposed to begin, he surprised nearly everyone and took a plea. karl karlsen pled guilty to murder in the second-degree in county seneca county court, taking responsibility for the death of his son, levi. it's called depraved indifference murder-- andrea canning (voiceover): barry porsche, then the seneca county da, said karlsen would be given the minimum sentence, 15 years to life. at the same news conference, levi's sisters, erin and katie, thanked the investigation team. but then erin turned to the tragedy that shattered her childhood and changed her family forever. we've been waiting just about 24 years now for some closure for things that transpired in california. you know, things that i will never be able to forget,

things that my family will never be able to overcome. andrea canning (voiceover): it appeared someone was listening. in 2014, karl karlsen was charged with first-degree murder in the 1991 death of his wife christina. he was extradited to calaveras county in california, where he pleaded not guilty. then, in january 2020, the case went to trial. the prosecution made the case that karlsen killed christina for the same reasons he killed levi. got the life insurance. life insurance on his wife for $200,000. andrea canning (voiceover): just three weeks after karl took out that policy, christina was dead. this was his plan, the da said. this was karlsen's deadly mo. but now it was the defense's turn to fight back. karl's attorneys told jurors they couldn't draw any conclusions based on karl's guilty plea and levi's death. does karl karlsen deserve a fair trial? now, some people would say, well, he admitted to killing

his son in new york. he doesn't deserve a fair trial. and to that, i'd say, if you believe that today, based just on that fact, you have an obligation to let the court know that you can't be fair. andrea canning (voiceover): now it was up to the jurors. deliberations lasted two days, and then the verdict came in. woman: we, the jury, find the defendant, karl holger karlsen, guilty of murder in the first-degree. andrea canning (voiceover): inside the courtroom, christina's family clung to each other in relief. her sister colette was there, too. when they read it, it was a good moment. andrea canning (voiceover): karl karlsen showed little emotion as he was led out of court. he was later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 29 years after a fire took christina karlsen's life,

her family finally has answers. but even time, they say, doesn't heal all wounds. i don't think you can put a time when you would miss someone the most. the memories are good. i still have her pictures up around my home. and i'm not going to take those down. and so she's right there in my bedroom with me at all times. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. [music playing] hello, i'm andrea canning, and this is "dateline."hock. i had a bad feeling. she did say he has a gun and i'm afraid he might use it. a story of sand, sunsets, and fatal attraction,