. >> bruce rushton covered the case for the springfield paper "register." >> any time we write about, it's the most clicked on thing, or close to the most clicked on thing. it's a puzzler. it's almost a game of three card monte. >> rushton said no one thought stephen instigated the violence. everyone the reporter spoke to had only good things to say about stephen including two teachers who taught his daughter alex. >> both agreed they had never in their teaching careers seen a father so devoted to his children as stephen watkins was. when i talked to his co-workers, he would talk about his kids at work. they all knew alex and sydney had a pretend bake session. he had animal crackers he was putting in the toy oven and playing with his kids. how many fathers do that? >> everyone thought stephen was such a great guy, such a great dad. who would kill him? ultimately mike vujovich, then with the state attorney's appellate prosecutors office and sergeant kelly walter, now a colonel with the illinois state police took over the investigation. they focused on a key question, who pulled the tr