>> ralph and pam candelario's neighbor had been on the way to work. she had never encountered this before. >> i looked over and he was saying, help me, help me. >> ralph was on the ground. in front of his house, hurt. >> i got to him and asked him if he needed help. and he seemed to be kind of out of it. >> finally, ralph managed to get the words out. he and his wife had been attacked and robbed. afraid that the attackers might still be in the house, the neighbor called 911. >> he looks like he had been shot. he said someone broke in. >> how are they doing? >> not good. he was crying. i want to get my neighbor to help me here. ralph -- we're getting help for you, ralph, okay? >> the police arrived. went into the house with guns drawn. and there at the entrance to the kitchen, still in her nightgown lay pam candelario. her head covered in blood. >> i knew she was dead when the ambulance showed up because they didn't go into the house. they just stayed and were working on ralph. >> ralph wasn't shot, but he was hurt. and he was airlifted to the nearest

i want to protect myself. >> everybody knew the candelarios had a nice house, filled with vintage treasures. >> there's a little jewelry that pamt. this is her dresser. >> some of which were missing as ralph told the police during a videotaped tour. >> the television's gone. >> okay. >> the candelarios had been about to leave on vacation. so maybe the intruders thought they were gone and were surprised to find them at home. but who? a citizen's tip supplied a possible lead. >> she brought up individual names that he believed were involved in this homicide. >> ramon bear rose and jose nino, known drug users, both had rap sheets, a history of breaking and entering and assault. they were trying to sell jewelry the day after the murders. >> you have a responsibility to check into that? >> yeah. >> pam's daughter shannon found her blaming ralph for not preventing what happened. >> i was angry at him. in my mind i was like, why didn't you protect my mother. that's your role as her husband. >> and right about then the biggest scoop of eric mullen's career landed right in the lap of the huerfano world journal. >> i've been in news sinc

>> reporter: ralph and pam candelario's neighbor had been on her way to work. >> we need an ambulance reporter: fahry trujillo had never encountered anything like this before. >> i looked over, and he was saying, help me, help me. >> reporter: ralph was on the ground in front of his house hurt. >> i got to him and asked him if he needed help. and he seemed to be kind of out of it. >> reporter: finally, ralph managed to get the words out. he and his wife had been attacked and robbed. fahry, afraid the attackers might still be in the house, called 911. >> he looks like he's been shot, he said someone broke in last night, him and his wife both. >> how are they doing? >> he's not good. he's crying and he keeps telling me go help her. she's in the kitchen. i'm going to get my neighbor to help me here. [ knocking ] ralph, we're getting help for you, ralph. okay? >> reporter: the police arrived, went into the house with guns drawn. and there at the entrance to the kitchen, still in her nightgown, lay pam candelario, her head covered in blood. >> i knew she was dead when the ambulance showed

and there at the entrance to the kitchen, still in her nightgown, lay pam candelario.er head covered in blood. >> i knew she was dead when the ambulance showed up, because they didn't go into the house. they just stayed, and were working on ralph. >> ralph wasn't shot, but he was hurt. and he was air lifted to the nearest trauma hospital. walsenburg, as local reporter mullens knew, wasn't equipped to handle an investigation of this magnitude. >> you don't have murder cops on staff. you don't have forensic professionals on staff. >> so by the time shannon arrived at the hospital looking for her mother, an agent of the colorado bureau of investigation was there to meet her. along with aaron. how did she take it? >> as well as you expect anybody to get hit by a sledgehammer or whatever. first you're just kind of shocked, then a little bit of denial. >> suddenly i realized that that last conversation i had with her was -- that was it. >> no fresh start now. her mother was dead. and then shannon saw ralph. >> and he lost it. he just turned into a sobbing, shaking maniac. >>

painstaking police work before investigators finally had enough evidence to arrest ralph candelario for the murder of his wife pamthey'd have to find him first. ralph was on vacation or maybe on the run. >> i initiated some phone calls with ralph so that we could try to track him down. >> reporter: they tracked his cell phone and caught up with him. >> driver, get your hands in the air. >> reporter: in northern california. >> walk back to the sound of my voice. back to me. >> you all right? >> yeah. >> reporter: charged him with first degree murder. pam's daughters were relieved when they got the news. >> all i could think to myself was finally. >> reporter: what was that like? >> it was like yea, then it was like this is reality all over again. it's starting. >> reporter: meaning, of course, reliving the crime at the trial. >> i'm antsy. i'm eager. >> reporter: you want to go and testify? >> yeah. i want this to be over. and i know that i need to cope with whatever answer comes. >> your opening. >> yes, your honor. >> reporter: then here it was, february 25th, 2016. already ralph had managed a victory, had tied