us ken and barbie. i just fell, you know, head over heels for him. dennis murphy (voiceover): sweethearts in high school, cheaters in marriage. one had cheated, the other one had cheated. somebody is showing me attention. - i wanted what i wanted. - which was? michelle. lots of stab wounds. it was a bad crime scene. i just fell on the floor, crying. she wasn't shedding a tear. dennis murphy (voiceover): was she a devastated

widow or was she in on it? woman: she's been referred to as a "puppet master." dennis murphy (voiceover): her lover said one thing. i see no guilt on her part. i really don't. dennis murphy (voiceover): the fact that she had a brand new dress ready for a funeral said something else. every woman needs a black dress. [drum beating] [cheerleaders chanting] [cheering] [band playing] dennis murphy (voiceover): he was number 15, a boy named thad. fate maybe because number 15 was her lucky number. the girl from the cross town rival watching the game up in the stands, the pretty blonde named michelle, who would become 1986 homecoming

queen at pepperell high. it was an honor because the whole school votes for the queen. and so it was an honor. so you were the really cool girl at school. i guess. [chuckles] dennis murphy (voiceover): number 15, thad reynolds, and michelle sullins were prom dates, married right out of high school. they were both popular, both nice-looking, both friendly, had a lot of friends, social. i mean, they-- they had it all. dennis murphy (voiceover): but years on, people had strong opinions about the one-time homecoming queen. she is one of the most evil people that i've ever dealt with. dennis murphy (voiceover): and that's because of what happened early one morning. lots of stab wounds. it certainly was a bad crime scene. dennis murphy (voiceover): with their church at the center of their lives, supportive families living right next door, how had it come to what it did? it was kind of a gruesome murder. it was very eye opening for our community and very big news. dennis murphy (voiceover): so much lost in the blink of an eye. so much blood. i'm looking at myself in the rearview mirror for a minute

before i go in. it's hard to believe that things got to where it was. [vehicle whistling past] dennis murphy (voiceover): a sense of place is important to this story, and here it is-- rome, georgia, a county seat northwest of atlanta, population about 35,000. not too big, not too small. proud to be in the bible belt and all that implies about how you live your life and treat your neighbors, a great many of whom you'll know by name. growing up here in this conservative community in the '70s was a sparkly little girl named michelle. she always seemed to end up front and center in the family snapshots kept by her aunt trish, trish benefield. trish benefield: she was always willing to pose for my camera, and she would sit at my mom's and dad's in the swing. i would take her picture. so grabbed the little poodle, the doggy

and take another picture. dennis murphy (voiceover): what the old photos of a happy kid don't reveal were the fault lines in michelle's childhood. her parents split up when she was a little girl, and her father died when she was only 13. her single mom raised michelle and her two older brothers with the teachings of the baptist church as a moral foundation. michelle grew older and stayed cute, a kind of little miss sunshine who always thrived in the attention her golden looks brought. trish benefield: i mean, was just a beauty, absolutely. walk into a room and everybody looks. she had that presence. dennis murphy (voiceover): there were teenage boyfriends, but no one special until she went to that football game, the one with number 15 on the field. and i asked who number 15 was, and it was-- it was thad. and i saw him at a dance, and then i just fell head over heels for him. dennis murphy (voiceover): thad reynolds, football player, wrestler later on in the school year,

and an athlete not afraid to be in the school play and skits, seen here dancing in his number 15 jersey. he started seeing michelle, someone as full of life as he was. that sister, beverly, remembers it as a match made in high school heaven. he was the football player. she was the cheerleader. i mean, i guess that's how it started. dennis murphy (voiceover): the pair reminded their friends of another couple. michelle sullins: a lot of people called us ken and barbie. and he was just fun to be around. dennis murphy (voiceover): fun for thad was downhome and yeehaw. our first date was a tractor pull in atlanta with his family. a tractor pull with his family? yes, sir. this is a good start. right, and actually, when we got back to their house, i got sick and threw up because i was so nervous. dennis murphy (voiceover): still, michelle remembers having a good time. and two months later, thad asked her to wear his class ring. the challenger, with a school teacher and six regular astronauts on board, was consumed by a giant fireball explosion less than--

dennis murphy (voiceover): no sooner had she slipped it on than 10 minutes later, they both remember the space shuttle exploding, the date, january 28, 1986. but they didn't see the disaster as a personal omen. they finished high school as a couple. we, um, went to the prom together. thad john glenn reynolds. [cheering] dennis murphy (voiceover): and right after michelle and thad graduated, the football player and the homecoming queen got married. they picked august the 15th, 15 their now mutually lucky number. they had a big church wedding at hollywood baptist, the church that would be so important in their lives in the years ahead. ken and barbie were now mr. and mrs. this was it. this was her family. she was finally going to have what she wanted. so how was it to be a young married woman? it was awesome. i enjoyed it. and having our own place was nice. dennis murphy (voiceover): reliable thad was unlike the father that had left the family.

her aunt trish wasn't surprised that michelle married young. security. because when i saw them together, i saw that. i saw that security. i know she loved him, but i also know that she could lean on him and depend on him. dennis murphy (voiceover): thad, like michelle, had been raised religious. the baptist church was a cornerstone for the young couple. thad was a "come in even when he was sick" kind of hard worker at a grocery. we had goals. we wanted to buy a house. we wanted to go on a cruise and buy a camcorder. and we did all three. and after that, we decided to try and start having children. dennis murphy (voiceover): they had a little girl and named her olivia. but the young marriage was foundering. five years in, michelle and thad divorced. one had cheated, the other one had cheated. so you have both stories. we had problems. dennis murphy (voiceover): michelle got an office job and started dating a little. thad kept on plugging along, sort of, but he especially took the divorce hard.

his mom remembered getting a bad phone call from thad. he was in an apartment that he had rented. and i can remember him saying that he curled up in the fetal position in the closet and asked for god and asked for reconciliation. dennis murphy (voiceover): michelle, too, wasn't finding much satisfying as a single mom in the dating scene. i dated a few times, but i knew back in my mind that i still loved thad, and i kept our wedding rings in our safe. but we still did things together. we had christmas together and some holidays. and i even went to florida with his family. so it's almost like we really wasn't divorced. dennis murphy (voiceover): after four years apart, thac and michelle went into counseling. and at the end of that, they decided to try it again. they would get remarried.

so one sunday, at hollywood baptist, with some of the same friends from the first wedding looking on, thad and michelle exchanged marriage vows for a second time. it was a beautiful ceremony because it involved olivia. it was the three. it wasn't just the two of them. it was a family. dennis murphy (voiceover): the local paper splashed a heartwarming story about the young couple who had overcome adversity and been reunited, with all their church members looking on. the article concluded theirs isn't a fairy tale, it's a love story. and trish, though, thought michelle looked at it through less rose-colored glasses. trish benefield: i thought it was more "i'll have a home for my child and for future children, and he'll provide," which he did, a great provider. dennis murphy (voiceover): later on, with everything that happened, some church members would rue the day they ever encouraged that and michelle to get back together. coming up, among the flock, wandering

eyes and suspicious wives. scottie told me that she was jealous of me and asking him if he thought she was prettier than me. dennis murphy (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. ooo! our car's value went up! maybe we should track all our cars' value on carvana? we need more trackers! oh! i'm getting a value update! do you see which one is going off? how's it trackin'? some dips, some rises. now what? "hold?" sold. track your car's value on carvana today. why pay more for an effective daily body lotion? gold bond healing lotion hydrates for half the price of the leading daily moisturizing lotion. it visibly heals and moisturizes dry skin in just 1 use. choose gold bond. my moderate to severe crohn's symptoms kept me out of the picture. now i have skyrizi. ♪ i've got places to go and i'm feeling free. ♪ ♪ control of my crohn's means everything to me. ♪

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mega-heist! -yeah! -i can't go back to jail! wait, did you rob my bank? sharing is caring, bro! let's make like dice and roll. ♪♪ thad and michelle, letafter four years apart,oll. began marriage take two. they built a little house for themselves on a plot right next door to his parents. thad and fellow church members pitched in on the construction. by then, his mom, kittie walker, knew that michelle would always be her boy's one and only. he just fell head over heels. and it was total commitment. dennis murphy (voiceover): commitment to a growing family. he and michelle would have three more girls. commitment to his job, working his way up the ranks at frito-lay, and commitment most of all to the god he worshiped every sunday

at hollywood baptist church. you know how they always say god, family? i think god was first with him, then his family. god working in my life, watching god work in their lives. dennis murphy (voiceover): thad was perfectly comfortable rising in front of the congregation at hollywood and speaking with the conviction of a polished preacher. john 8:36, god has done a miracle in my life. god says, pursue righteousness, pursue faith. pursue love with others who call on the lord. i really, truly, deep down think he wanted to be a missionary. dennis murphy (voiceover): thad and michelle decided to home-school their four little girls to shield them from the secular, worldly influences of public classrooms. when we were getting back together, he had asked if i'd pray about it, about homeschooling our children. so i think i hear you saying you're really living quite an active religious christian life. yes, sir. dennis murphy (voiceover): the church became their family's focal point. thad was elevated to deacon at hollywood baptist,

a volunteer position as one of the pastor's right hand men. michelle became active with the teens, putting on dance performances. michelle sullins: a lot of baptist churches that i've been to, they're just quiet and don't clap or anything. it's to where there was more freedom to worship at hollywood. (singing) you're good, lord you are good dennis murphy (voiceover): the teen group michelle helped organize was foot stompingly professional. (singing) we worship oh, we worship you, lord hallelujah, hallelujah dennis murphy (voiceover): and to further cement their commitment to god, michelle and thad both starred in an elaborate church play. now that you've asked jesus into your heart, we're a complete christian family. dennis murphy (voiceover): thad and michelle were featured in a scene about a christian couple, the wife traditional, the husband understanding of her lapses. oh, honey, i was so busy this morning, i forgot to put the roast in the oven. you know how crazy it gets around our house on sundays.

that's ok, sweetheart. i understand. we'll go out for lunch. dennis murphy (voiceover): when thad's sister, beverly owens, looks back, those days of church and family were good times for her brother. beverly owens: if i had to pick a time that he was his happiest, it was when he had all four kids and michelle at home. dennis murphy (voiceover): and the church provided like-minded, god-fearing friends. one of those couples was scotty and paige harper, almost a mirror image of thad and michelle in so many ways. scotty on thad. you know, he was-- he was a good guy. dennis murphy (voiceover): like thad and michelle, they lived next door to his parents. like thad, scotty was deeply religious and also a church volunteer leader. he was the volunteer family pastor, giving his time to tend to the young people of hollywood baptist. and scotty and paige had their own three small children, also all girls. our children were like best friends, and we would go out to eat with them, go to a movie.

dennis murphy (voiceover): barbecues, volleyball, camping trips, prayer groups. thad and michelle, scotty and paige, and all the kids together. the husbands, who'd first met when thad was divorced, became especially fast friends, the bible and scriptures their glue. thad thought so highly of scotty, he praised him in front of the congregation. our family pastor, official title now, scotty harper, has always taught the people that are under him and the kids that we need to teach them the things that are relevant to them these days. that's his key word, right, "relevant." how to minister to them right now in their lives. he was a good role model. dennis murphy (voiceover): thad and scotty became the tightest of friends, helping each other hold firm to their faith. sunday mornings before church, that him and scotty and several other guys at hollywood would meet at mcdonald's and have a little worship there before they actually went on to church. dennis murphy (voiceover): the two moms, though, michelle and paige, never grew as close.

michelle sullins: scotty told me later on that she was jealous of me and asking him if he thought she was prettier than me. and she was just jealous of me. and so she just started getting away from me. dennis murphy (voiceover): but michelle was getting closer to scotty. her church performances for the middle schoolers came under his direction as the family pastor. they talked church business on the phone and exchanged emails. scotty had actually gone to the same high school as michelle, two years behind her when she'd been elected homecoming queen. i knew who she was. i mean, if i saw her, i might say, hey, but we really didn't cross many paths in high school. dennis murphy (voiceover): after a tour in the air force, including duty in desert storm with a combat communications unit, scotty parlayed his electronic savvy into a good job at the county's major medical complex, floyd medical center. he helped keep the computer systems going. everything was good, as far as vocationally, a good job.

dennis murphy (voiceover): but there was some turbulence on the home front with paige. he prayed for his marriage with thad, who, as part of his duties as deacon, regularly counseled church couples at his home. he and i, over the years, have battled things off of each other. i mean, he's had some downs, i've had some downs. and we'd build each other. dennis murphy (voiceover): for her part, michelle was happy to see scotty at her house. he was always so complimentary about her church work with the teenagers and her effervescent, good spirits. he was fun to be around and made you laugh and just had a great sense of humor. dennis murphy (voiceover): by 2004, there were signs that michelle was getting restless about rome, georgia, and maybe even all the churchiness in their marriage. like a lot of families in the area, michelle and thad liked to visit the campgrounds in gatlinburg, tennessee, in the smoky mountains. michelle felt so itchy, she seriously wanted to buy a cabin resort property from her family,

uproot from rome, and cater to the tourists in tennessee. it was unreal, $1 million or something. they had already qualified for it. and some guy stepped in supposedly before they did and bought it. and that was thad's excuse as to why she was so down in the dumps and everything. dennis murphy (voiceover): that spring, michelle started popping in on her in-laws next door less frequently. when thad got home from work, she'd say she'd had a long day with the kids, and she was going off to shop. thad, meanwhile, was becoming even more involved in the church. after a missionary trip to cuba, he came back home afire with the idea of becoming a minister full-time, leaving his job to see where jesus would lead him. michelle was said to be frosty to the idea. when did it begin? we'll never know, but michelle, feeling she was playing second fiddle to god in her marriage, began telling someone she was having

naughty thoughts about him, someone very taboo. and he was only too happy to say, funny, me, too. coming up. two of the faithful play with fire. he's saying, boy, you are a beautiful girl. you're awesome. very welcome words for your ears at that point. yes, sir. dennis murphy (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. our right to reproductive health care is being stolen from us. i can't believe this is the world we live in, where we're losing the freedom to control our own bodies. we need your support now more than ever. go online, call, or scan this code, with your $19 monthly gift.

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michelle reynolds had become almost a theatrical producer at hollywood baptist church. her christian rock and gospel presentation with the church's young people were slick and polished. but in their marriage by may 2004, michelle and thad had again hit a rocky patch. he was thinking about pursuing the ministry full-time,

and that would mean major changes in their lives with four little girls, certainly less money. did thad, who'd been through an excruciating divorce from michelle, even realize that his wife was feeling ignored? michelle sullins: my husband was married to his job and church. and i did everything from a to z in our household and homeschooled and had toddlers, taking care of babies. and i would tell him, i needed a date. i always told him, i need a date. i need a date. dennis murphy (voiceover): now, they did have an active social life, but it was mostly with other young couples from the church, mainly scotty, thad's friend, the youth pastor, and his wife, paige. they went on weekend camping trips together, grilled burgers, played family volleyball. but something had made its way back to michelle when thad had been counseling scotty over some marital problems he'd been having. thad told michelle to be careful around scotty because when scotty had confided in him during those sessions, it dawned on thad

that michelle would make his best friend, scotty, the perfect wife. my husband, he told me to stay away from scotty because i'm everything that he wants in a wife. dennis murphy (voiceover): but even if she wanted to, which she didn't, there was a problem with avoiding scotty. he was her boss, in a way. all those church youth extravaganzas were planned with him. i would have to ask him if i needed, like, costumes or something for one of the dramas, and he would tell me how to go about getting it. dennis murphy (voiceover): now, on scotty's end, he says his wife, paige, was sensing that her husband and michelle were getting way too cozy after a rafting trip they'd all taken together that may, when there seemed to be electricity, dancing between the two of them. scotty says paige told him to back off from michelle. i want me to be around her without paige around. and i want me to talk to her. dennis murphy (voiceover): but they did talk, and a favorite topic, their spouses' suspicions that something flirtatious was going on between them.

by the end of may 2004, scotty, who seemed to put the one-time homecoming queen up on a pedestal, and michelle, the ignored spouse, were crossing the line from friendship to intimacy. i started getting the attention from scotty. and i was like, well, ok, somebody is showing me attention and saying that you're awesome. so here comes scotty. and he's saying, boy, you are a beautiful girl. you're awesome. very welcome words for your ears at that point, huh? yes, sir. dennis murphy (voiceover): michelle began by sending scotty an explicit erotic email, the kama sutra of things she'd like to do with him. i would have never suspected that we'd go there. dennis murphy (voiceover): scotty was tingling and hit return with equally naughty thoughts. i mean, you don't get tempted by something that you don't want. dennis murphy (voiceover): the weekend following the exchange of sexy emails, the two church leaders and their families shared a camper vehicle together. in the afternoon, scotty and paige went off to the lake with the children. michelle sullins: and thad and i were left in our camper sleeper.

and i tried to make love with my husband. and he said, no. he brushed me off. and that was very frustrating. dennis murphy (voiceover): that night in the camper, with thad sleeping next to michelle, paige by scotty, scotty says there was erotic midnight tension crackling between the two not yet lovers only a few feet apart. was she flirting with you? yeah, we were. her husband there and your wife there and the kids around then? yeah. she was coming on to you? we were just enjoying the weekend, yeah. dennis murphy (voiceover): on that camping trip, scotty says thad teased him about losing thad's hunting knife. scotty promised to replace it. the following tuesday, michelle met scotty in the parking deck of the medical center where he worked. she waited for him in her suv, and they clambered into the back seat like teenagers. the two had crossed the line. and for scotty, anyway, there was no looking back. i wanted what i wanted. which was? michelle. so this was the big thing. you thought you'd met your soul mate here? yeah.

dennis murphy (voiceover): it was june 2004. and scotty, the family pastor, and michelle, the youth pageant director, were suddenly hot and heavy. mornings when they used to go to the gym were now passed in illicit hours at motels just down the road from hollywood baptist. they started whispering about portland, the city of their fantasized exit strategy. they called and emailed all day long. there was even a stolen dinner together and a movie in a neighboring town. i'm guessing neither one of you wants to be found out at this point. no. you want each other, but you still want to keep what you have. is that the dilemma? we want each other, and we don't want to destroy what we have. so how do you get out of that box? the easy thing was just keep going day to day. but that obviously wasn't reasonable. - that wasn't working, huh? - no. dennis murphy (voiceover): michelle also felt trapped between the two men. dennis murphy: did you start to feel bad, michelle, about what was going on? yes, sir. i explained-- that you were cheating on thad? yes. i explained to him.

at times, i was like, i can't believe that it came to this. i really wanted to grow old with my husband. we'd always talked about walking on the beach, all pruned out. dennis murphy (voiceover): mid-june, and another families together weekend, a big one, a road trip to alabama, where michelle's kids from the church dance troupe would attend a christian gathering at a place called the ramp. thad had stayed behind at home. the group overnighted at a nearby motel, while most of the parents, including scotty's wife, paige, stayed in rooms piled high with sleeping bags chaperoning the teens. scotty, the family pastor, arranged for michelle to have her own room. dennis murphy: i get the picture of you kind of easing your way out of the room after lights out, tiptoeing down the hall. is that the way it happened? correct, well, yes. into michelle's room? yes. spend the night with her? yes. make love and then sneak back into your own bed? pretty much. dennis murphy (voiceover): that night, in michelle's single, the two in pillow talk used

an expression for the first time that would become their lovers' code, the word "ugly," a word that would come to hint at where they were headed. at the end of the weekend, they headed back home to rome, georgia, but they'd all be getting together again soon for the big 4th of july weekend, racing up on them. everything about michelle was great to me. you loved her? yeah. [fireworks exploding] [crowd exclaiming] dennis murphy (voiceover): coming up. michelle tries one more time to put her marriage back together, a date night that goes horribly wrong. so pick a word for how you feel, listening to this. i was disgusted. dennis murphy (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. (cough cough) (sneeze) (♪♪) new alka-seltzer plus cold or flu fizzy chews. chew. fizz. feel better fast. no water needed. new alka-seltzer plus fizzychews.

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hi i'm jessica layton with if hour's top stories. much of the country will wake up to a new round of winter

weather. the pacific northwest is being slammed by rain and snow. and the south is at risk of severe storms. and beyonce brought the house down at her halftime show in the game between the ravens and the texas singing songing from her album "cowboy carter." now back to dateline. having a torri ir. in only a month's time they'd crossed the line from friends to lovers. scotty didn't think his wife knew. i think paige knew that michelle and i was closer than she wanted us to be. she didn't know you were physical. no. dennis murphy (voiceover): michelle was sure her husband, thad, was in the dark. not surprising, as she says, he was oblivious to everything but his job and church. be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our lord and what he's done in your life. dennis murphy (voiceover): all of which, she says, pushed her into the affair with his best friend.

dennis murphy: was this love or lust we're talking about here? i would say a need, a need that needed to be met that i wasn't getting at home. but there was a major lovers' problem here. scotty was reasonably sure that paige would give him a divorce. michelle was just as certain that for her, divorce wasn't in the cards. by then, thad had started chatting with friends and family about becoming a full-time minister. being a two-time loser at marriage wasn't going to do him any good. scotty says michelle started joking with him that if you want me as your bride, then you're just going to have to outlive thad. dennis murphy (voiceover): in the midst of their hot sheets mornings at local motels, the two began to email each other about other ways to get around their problem with their gnats. that's what they called their partners-- "gnats." scotty says he joked with michelle that, for instance, she could slather extra butter in thad's food to induce a heart attack. or maybe they could have a spaghetti dinner for their spouses with two pots bubbling, in one,

dinner for thad and paige. they would poison the sauce. scotty harper: maybe it did put some things in my head. dennis murphy: you think it did? it did. maybe i was already thinking things. i can't really say. dennis murphy (voiceover): wheels started turning. scotty began toying around with internet searches, and the lovers increasingly talked to each other about portland. michelle sullins: i'd seen something about portland, oregon, and i said i would like to visit there. and we had said had we gotten married that we could move out there. dennis murphy (voiceover): portland became their code word they'd drop into a conversation when the gnats were all together at a gathering. portland's nice this time of year, they'd say with a private smile. was that a fantasy, or did you actually think it would happen? a fantasy. i believe it was a fantasy. dennis murphy (voiceover): but they both realized they were now in deep, and the spouses had to be told. it was agreed that scotty would be the one to tell thad. dennis murphy: are you insisting that he be the one that tell him? michelle sullins: yes, sir. i was afraid that my husband might hit me.

and i was just afraid that he would blow up. it's late june now, and michelle starts telling her lover, scotty, places where her husband, thad, is going to be, say, the following day, suggesting to scotty that those are locations where he can deliver the very unpleasant news that he and michelle are on and that his best friend, thad, is odd man out in a lovers' triangle. at least, that's what michelle claims those messages were all about. dennis murphy (voiceover): another code word by then was "ugly," meaning how things might get when scotty finally confronted thad. it first crept into their pillow talk during that alabama weekend, how the two men had to talk and how the talk might get "ugly." i took "ugly" to mean something. and when "ugly" meant something, "talk" all of a sudden took a different meaning as well. dennis murphy (voiceover): scotty followed michelle's instructions on her husband's whereabouts and haunted spots where thad was expected to show up. he couldn't work up the nerve to confront him, though, and sensed michelle was growing frustrated.

dennis murphy: now, have you been on scotty? have you talked to him yet? have you done the thing you promised you were going to do? i just asked him when he was going to talk to him. dennis murphy (voiceover): on july 1, a thursday, scotty had walked into this kmart and bought a knife like the one he says thad had blamed him for losing. was it a replacement or what? the next morning, friday, he sat waiting for thad to come out of this restaurant. and what'd you do? - nothing. - chicken out? yeah. dennis murphy (voiceover): that afternoon was a low point in the scotty and michelle affair. michelle wanted him to meet her by the town's levee at lunchtime, but this time she wanted to talk, not make out. scotty could feel her pulling back, dousing cold water on their fling. scotty harper: i don't remember exact words, but i felt like she was to the point of, you know, the conversation's not gonna happen. you're not man enough to do this thing were going to do. basically. and forget about me, bud, because i'm going to be gone? i don't know that i really saw that she was doing that, but i guess i saw that she was willing to do that.

dennis murphy (voiceover): michelle was aloof by the river that day. she says she was starting to have serious second thoughts about the relationship. and that was actually when i was trying to cut it off at that point. and he said no. but it kept going. yes, sir. dennis murphy (voiceover): but to make an even bad rendezvous worse, michelle told scotty that she and thad were going out that night, the date she'd been going on and on about with thad that she really needed to have. so they went out. but before dinner, michelle says thad's date night began with an unexpected stop at a prayer group. and i was a little frustrated with that type of situation. and he said, y'all pray for me. i'm not a good husband to michelle. at the church meeting? yes, sir. in public, out loud? stand up and talk? yes, sir. he says, i'm not being the husband that i should be to michelle. that's exactly what he said. and-- so pick a word for how you feel, listening to this. i was disgusted. i was thinking, don't go to these people. come to me. let's talk about it.

so that probably wasn't a great date. no, sir. dennis murphy (voiceover): the saturday of 4th of july weekend, the two families and a few other couples were getting together for the usual festivities-- scott, paige, thad, michelle, and the seven girls. michelle says she was starting to get edgy about her affair with scotty. dennis murphy: was it starting to eat at you? just feeling convicted. yes, sir. dennis murphy (voiceover): but that night, whatever concerns there may have been, were pushed aside to watch the fireworks. the next day, sunday, a cookout and volleyball. michelle says scotty's wife commented on her wearing attire too skimpy for an afternoon family picnic. michelle sullins: we got together with some couples at the park and played some volleyball. and paige even commented on my clothes there. in kind of a snide way? michelle sullins: yeah, "i can't believe you're wearing that tank top." so that was uncomfortable. dennis murphy: scotty had his own reasons for feeling uncomfortable at the afternoon cookout. how strange is it that the guy you're cooking steaks with is the husband of your lover?

it's strange like any affair, i guess. dennis murphy (voiceover): later that afternoon, scotty received an email from michelle with information about where thad was going to be the next morning, monday. after the chilly talk at the levee, scotty knew full well that he might lose michelle unless he confronted thad soon, even if it turned out to be that lovers' shorthand they had-- "ugly." coming up. a bloody pre-dawn discovery. he told me about it, and i just fell on the floor, crying. dennis murphy (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. let's monopoly go! friends are like money. keke, i won again? they make everything more fun. and you can never have enough! toodaloo. my moderate to severe crohn's symptoms kept me out of the picture. now i have skyrizi. ♪ i've got places to go and i'm feeling free. ♪

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call your prescriber if you have any of these symptoms. wegovy® may cause low blood sugar in people with diabetes, especially if you take medicines to treat diabetes. call your prescriber about vision changes, if you feel your heart racing while at rest, or if you have mental changes. depression or thoughts of suicide may occur. common side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, stomach pain, flu, or upset, headache, feeling tired, dizzy, or bloated, gas, and heartburn. some side effects lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. with wegovy®, i'm losing weight, i'm keeping it off, and i'm lowering my cv risk. ask your prescriber about wegovy®. [fireworks exploding] dennis murphy (voiceover): the 4th of july weekend was over. thad's mom had babysat her granddaughters when thad and michelle had gone out on their date night that friday. he went and come and picked up the girls. and he said, thanks, mom.

we needed that. and that's really the last conversation i can remember having. dennis murphy (voiceover): that shift at the frito-lay warehouse often began before dawn. that's where a co-worker found him. 36-year-old thad reynolds had been stabbed to death in a frenzy-- 19 wounds. sheriff tim burckhalter could barely believe what he was hearing-- a well-liked local man brutally stabbed at his office. tim burckhalter: we typically have maybe two murders a year. and this kind of gruesome murder, it was, of course, very eye opening for our community and very big news. dennis murphy (voiceover): it was a scene right out of the movie "psycho," not one you would normally ever see in the quiet city of rome, georgia. no one could make sense of it. it just seemed out of character for what is a nice, quiet place to live. dennis murphy (voiceover): assistant district attorney natalie stats and her boss, lee patterson, got news

of the murder that morning. when the first officer arrived, they called in for detectives to come in. they didn't know at that point who to even focus on. dennis murphy (voiceover): the warehouse wasn't a place to have cash lying around. the drivers picked up their snack orders there. they wondered if it was a stranger murder, where somebody had just walked by and saw the lights on, saw the cars outside, and then came in. dennis murphy (voiceover): while detectives gathered evidence at the scene to try to make sense of the crime, the pastor from hollywood baptist went to break the news to michelle that thad was dead. they came and knocked on the door and had told me about it, and i just fell on the floor, crying. dennis murphy (voiceover): thad's mom, kittie, found out while at work. i got the call from the pastor at hollywood. and he said, you need to come home. you need to come home now. michelle needs you. and i guess it was just like, automatically, i knew it was that. dennis murphy (voiceover): kittie raced

to michelle's, where she was officially told her son, thad, was dead. kittie walker: it's a mother's nightmare. basically, from there, it's-- it's like all a blur. dennis murphy (voiceover): thad's sister, beverly, had arrived, too. her mom told her. i just kind of lost it right then and there in the front yard. i remember her going to her knees. yeah. they helped me get back up. and i walked in and went to michelle. she was sitting on the couch. i hugged her. dennis murphy (voiceover): when she heard the news, aunt trish came to the house to comfort her niece. she seemed like she was in shock because-- obvious grief? crying, sobbing? no, she was like-- almost like she was in a trance because, like i say, almost in shock, because she said, i keep waiting for him to walk in the door, for thad to walk in the front door. dennis murphy (voiceover): an emergency prayer request went out to the hollywood baptist community and members of the congregation started arriving to comfort michelle, the new widow.

dennis murphy: were you taking medications? yes, sir. i was antidepressant and a sleeping pill. and actually, one of the girls that i go to church with is a nurse. and she brought me some xanax. yes. some of the people helping you through your grief, there's paige. it was only like a five-minute that i remember her just hugging me. and that was pretty much it. dennis murphy (voiceover): paige was joined at michelle's by her husband, scotty. the pastor had called him and told him the news at his office at the hospital. he told me that thad was dead. dennis murphy (voiceover): scotty showed up at michelle's house with a bandaged right hand-- a weightlifting accident at the gym, he explained. he'd sat there and played games with thad's kids and my daughter. i mean, they were all just sitting around, cutting up, playing games. dennis murphy (voiceover): meanwhile, at the crime scene, the police were recovering what would turn out to be key evidence-- great stuff, a homicide detective's dream.

whoever the killer was, he had been a bungler. he dropped his prescription glasses on the ground. nearby, they found a sheath for a knife, the apparent murder weapon. and a witness recalled seeing a burgundy minivan. dennis murphy: as a murder, how clumsy is this crime? incredibly. dennis murphy (voiceover): the killing of a family man and church deacon in rome was, of course, a big story. there was a man who had heard the news of the murder. he worked on the phone systems at the floyd medical center. later that night, he was sitting down with homicide detectives, and they were very interested in what he had to say. coming up. they would also be interested in certain emails. things like "i want to taste you." that's the tame part of it. so not hallmark cards and kittens and clouds? no. dennis murphy (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. long after guests leave, viruses and bacteria linger.

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floyd medical center in rome, georgia is the largest employer in the county. keeping its vast phone system up to speed is a big job. there was a tech person who was helping the hospital change over to a new phone system. you might say he was a perfectly legal eavesdropper. so if the department would say, we're having problems with our phones, we're hearing a lot of static, it was his job to go in and find out what the problem was and clear it up. so he was monitoring some phone lines. dennis murphy (voiceover): da lee peterson says one day, as this tech was working to switch over the phone lines, he heard fellow employee scottie harper having an intimate conversation with a woman who wasn't his wife. sizzling stuff. i don't know about sizzling. it was obvious that he was having an affair with someone. and they referred to their spouses as "gnats," pesky creatures. it bothered him. dennis murphy (voiceover): the technician was discreet. he didn't tell anyone that he'd

caught scotty in an affair, cooing with a woman named michelle something. didn't tell until the day of thad reynolds' murder when he happened to drive by the crime scene that morning abuzz with police activity and later heard this crime stopper tip-- be on the lookout for a burgundy van. so this phone troubleshooter at the hospital where turned out to be fairly important in the investigation. he'd have a little role to play. he absolutely did. dennis murphy (voiceover): now, the technician didn't hesitate to share what he knew. he's listened on these phone calls, and he knows that scott harper is having an affair with somebody that's not obviously his wife. and he knows that scott harper drives a burgundy van. and he immediately calls the police. and so at that point, the police began to focus their investigation on scott harper. dennis murphy (voiceover): with that tip, the detectives went to the hospital to get scotty harper's computer with all his emails. what the cops find reads like steamy porn-- a month's worth of erotic messages between scotty

and michelle, more than enough to persuade them that michelle had lit the spark that started the affair. she put the full court press on him to try to seduce him. and she used everything in her power to do that. she's-- she's very good at it, obviously. but she was taking the lead. i think that, absolutely. dennis murphy (voiceover): they even referred to one of the messages as "the wheel of fortune email." it was michelle to scotty after she'd confided to him that she was having bad thoughts about him. well, she sent him an email that details what she wanted to do to him sexually. and it would be a series of phrases like, "i want to," and then there would be several words or several blanks that you'd have to fill in the letters to form a word. just like on the tv game show. yes, just like on the game show. dennis murphy: and when you bought a vowel and filled it in, what were the kinds of things she was talking about? they were pretty graphic, things like, "i want to taste you." that's the tame part of it.

"i want to make love with you." but they were extremely more graphic. and-- so not hallmark cards and kittens and clouds? no. he filled in the blanks. and so there's a series of emails that go back and forth between them. and that was when their relationship changed. put us in his state of mind and who he was at that time. why do you think he was vulnerable or receptive to this wheel of fortune email? wow, that seems like a good idea. i hadn't thought of that. michelle. i think that-- i don't know how to put it any nice way-- she put it on him. dennis murphy (voiceover): michelle and scotty tried to keep their cool with their spouses as though nothing at home had changed. the custom of the two families getting together most weekends continued and was a kind of cover for their infatuation. people who have affairs often, when they think they're being secretive and they're hiding things, and they think they're in this little bubble, will think that if you're with a big group of people, and the two of you are together and you can talk with the big group of people there, that no one will think there's anything about it.

dennis murphy (voiceover): but now detectives were thinking all about it, and the evidence was threatening to burst michelle and scotty's bubble. coming up. cops confront scotty with pointed questions. where are your glasses? have you had an affair with michelle reynolds? he knows they're pinning him in at that point, huh? dennis murphy (voiceover): while michelle remains calm, too calm for some. i saw no tears. dennis murphy (voiceover): also surprising-- her plan for thad's remains. i was shocked, but i knew that there was nothing we could do because she was calling the shots. dennis murphy (voiceover): when "dateline" continues.

have you always had trouble with your weight? same. discover the power of wegovy®. with wegovy®, i lost 35 pounds. and some lost over 46 pounds. and i'm keeping the weight off. i'm reducing my risk. wegovy® is the only weight-management medicine proven to reduce risk of major cardiovascular events such as death, heart attack, or stroke in adults with known heart disease and obesity. don't use wegovy® with semaglutide or glp-1 medicines, or in children under 12. don't take if you or your family had mtc, men 2, or if allergic to it. tell your provider if you plan to have surgery or a procedure, are breastfeeding, pregnant, or plan to be. stop taking and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or any of these allergic reactions. serious side effects may include pancreas inflammation and gallbladder problems.

call your prescriber if you have any of these symptoms. wegovy® may cause low blood sugar in people with diabetes, especially if you take medicines to treat diabetes. call your prescriber about vision changes, if you feel your heart racing while at rest, or if you have mental changes. depression or thoughts of suicide may occur. common side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, stomach pain, flu, or upset, headache, feeling tired, dizzy, or bloated, gas, and heartburn. some side effects lead to dehydration, which may cause kidney problems. with wegovy®, i'm losing weight, i'm keeping it off, and i'm lowering my cv risk. ask your prescriber about wegovy®. dennis murphy (voiceover): thad reynolds had been murdered. investigators were now looking into a steamy affair between thad's wife, michelle, and best friend scotty harper. and they were finding their secret tingles-- lovers' codewords, a discreetly brushed hand-- all with her husband and his wife only a few feet away.