was struck with the fact that this didn't -- there was no trauma. >> did you see any blood on leslie mueller? there was no blood. >> reporter: even leslie's clothing seemed unscathed. >> did you notice any markings, tears, scrapes on the jacket? on the coat? >> there was none. it was remarkably pristine. >> reporter: the pathologist who performed leslie's autopsy was also surprised by the lack of injuries to her body. >> did you observe any injuries to mrs. mueller that were consistent with breaking a fall? >> no, i did not. >> did you observe any consistent with falling on her head and shoulders off a cliff onto granite as described to you? >> no. >> reporter: and what's more, investigators found no forensic evidence that leslie ever hit that rock. >> there was no fibers on this rock. there was no blood on this rock. there was no hair on this rock. >> reporter: this is a very unique case in the sense that the evidence is lack of evidence. there's no evidence. >> that's the tough part of the case. what we have is a lot of evidence that what the defendant said is impossible. case -- those tes

reporter: for the folks charged with keeping the woods and waters around cottonwood creek k fe, leslie mueller's drowning was a tragedy, but also a mystery. >>ou know, i put myself in fred's shoes, and they didn't fit. >> reporter: sheriff ron bruce had thought fred's demeanor the day leslie died was unusual. fred, to him, showed a lack of but what really spoke volumes to the sheriff and his team was something they knew well -- the terrain around cottonwood creek. as fred told them, leslie did a swan dive from up there, landing on her head and shoulders on this rock. then she slid into the w wer. a horrible accident. but to local law enforcement, something seemed off. the first trained rescuer on the scene noticed it first. what appeared to be a major inconsistency in that story. after such a treacherous fall, leslie's body, when pulled from the creek, didn't look at all injured. >> he told me she fell 20 feet. where was the trauma? where were the injuries? why did i not see what i expected to see? >> reporter: one look at that drop off, and sheriff bruce was wondering the same thing. and when t