quitman, texas, jail cell, waiting to clear his name. he faced life in prison for the murders of his wife, nichole, and her son, taylor. jason's sister, melisa thickstun. did you ever feel the need to ask jason, did you do this? >> i did. i just looked at him, and i said, i need you to know what happened. i need you to tell me the truth. and the look on his face was like i had just stabbed him for even asking. but it's just who i am. nichole was laying in the bed. >> reporter: jason's family believed taylor had murdered his own mother and then killed himself. daniel said his stepdad was dove stated over the charges. >> jason was very much emotionally distraught from all of this, and i think it bothered him even more that everybody started to think he would even do it. i was like, yeah, there's no way. there's no way. >> reporter: but prosecutors thought taylor was an innocent victim. thomas cloudt is a texas assistant attorney general. while he wasn't involved in the trial, he knows the facts of the >> jason payne committed this murder b

." >> here's andrea canning with "the trouble in quitman." >> the white dove. symbol of peace, love and fidelity. one young woman was so moved by their grace and beauty, she turned her passion for do you haves into a business, releasing them at weddings and also funerals. >> she enjoyed helping families grieve. it just melts you. >> nicole payne believed in the power of image. someone's spirits flying to heaven on the wings of a dove. this time they made a poignant flight, at her own funeral, a final gesture of peace after an appalling act of violence. >> she was just a gentle, happy soul. she loved people. >> nicole's mother says she made be a parent easy. >> her brother came in screaming. she just came in peaceful and happy. >> she looks like that in her pictures. >> she was -- people loved her. >> nicole was a tomboy who loved the country life in the piney woods of east texas. >> she was definitely a free spirit. she was fun. >> michelle was nicole's friend. sarah hawthorne was her sister-in-law. >> she was going to have fun whatever she was doing. loved dig

here we are across the denver metro area at 23rd and quitman closing off that intersection. we also help work going on in with an ongoing projects and just a mess. i would avoid that if you could. lots of people were saying why did not you talk about the construction in my neighborhood? the codes cones-- are out. it is construction season and do expect delays. >> thank you, >>> right now a search for vandals is happening because they are shooting out of car windows in littleton. one victim says her suv was hit in the parking lot. our tom mustin has more. >> reporter: mandy is happy to be home after her car was targeted at the light-rail station. completely shattered. i am really lucky there was no blood in my car at the time. >> reporter: -- know one in my car at the time. >> reporter: it happened fairly frequently. douglas county also had this. the weapons were bb guns and pellet guns. the incidence have no consistent pattern and detectives have no suspects. pictures show the bullet holes send broken glass cascading across the seat. >> i thought this was a safe place to par

this happened on quitman street near colorado and tennyson. the investigation. >>reporter: that's right, police got a report of shots fired, in the area of quitman and colorado avenue bout the 1800 block south here. whenever my shoulder this is a house that took a round through the front wall and into the couch. fortunately, no one was sitting on the couch, at the time the round came through. witnesses are describing a vehicle as an f350 ford, white, two-tone in color, it fled the scene here shortly after the shots were fired. another witness at the shots did come from this f3 50 truck. police are unseen right now, the si's are out here gathering evidence. there is even debris out here, possibly a tv that was in the back of the truck. police have not been able to confirm that at this point. % they are looking for this white f3 50 pickup ruck, as were the suspects inside, they do not have a description of that, as of this time. as soon as we get more >>> we have some good news for you this morning, this 15-year- old girl and her baby who went missing, are now saf

denver police officers investigated this area off at colorado and quitman... after someone said shots were fired. we've seen officers gathering evidence... and putting orange evidence markers on the ground. they're also lifting fingerprints off a big screen t-v outside a home there. we have calls into denver police a crew there gathering more information for you right now. blood centers are being more careful about the blood donations they take. they're starting to test for the zika virus. it's an order from the fda... protecting people on the receiving end. the zika virus can be transmitted in blood for up to 30 days. that means people deferred from donating, because of travel to a zika affected area can probably donate again under the new directive. states have until mid-november to comply with this directive from the f-d-a. more kids gave the new version of the ever... but we won't know how they did for a few more months. nearly one and a half million students took the test nationally between march and june this year. but, their scores have not been release

spelling past i-to 70 -- -- slowing past i-270. 23rd and quitman we have a water main break closing up a portion of the intersection. work continues through mississippi rough part of town. we have a couple of construction projects. some of these are overnight expiring and you will see some of these with others taking place in the daytime. if you are wondering why i didn't tell you about your drive, this is why. they are out there in force. >> federal officials developing self driving vehicles. the guidelines are also aimed at ensuring safer testing on the roads. here is chris martinez with more from los angeles. >> reporter: saving drivers money, time, and lives. they also see potential risks. the department of transportation is revealing new policy before they are allowed on the road. it includes testing and deployment. officials say they want the ability to approve new driverless technologies and regulate sales and software upgrades. the safety of driverless cars has come into question after a fatal crash involving a tesla >> we are simultaneously allowing information to happen and i

we have a two issue on 23rd and quitman with a water main break but it is not causing them delays. we have had some folks say the drive has been brought coming out of highlands ranch where the construction continues this morning and one lane. >>> fire officials are working to determine what caused this fire at the reserve at hunters cruiser monitoring the complex with seven people suffering minor injuries. fire crews say it started on the southwest corner of the complex. they had to immediately take a defensive stance as the flames began to grow. witnesses say it was putting off massive heat. >> opinion the structure. all units, abandon the no one in the building. i was just thinking about my kids. i always thought if there was a fire, i would run in and get my kid. but it amuses too hot. -- it was just too hot. >> flames from the bottom to the top floor. everyone in the complex has been accounted for and all of the people hurt in the fire are expected to recover. now opened a civil rights investigation into the shooting of an unarmed black man in tulsa, oklahoma. dashcam video fro

the last direction known was south of quitman away from colorado avenue. fortunately, anybody inside the house they were not hurt. there is a round that did go through the outer wall of the house and it was stopped inside where no one was sitting. good news for them inside the morning, the first presidential debate. they clashed on several different issues, but they did not stick to politics. they even attacked each other on a personal level. >> if you missed some of it, fear not, we have the highlights. >>reporter:the candidates, hillary clinton and donald trump walking out on the debate stage shaking hands and taking a fighting stance. their first general election face-off turning contentious and personal click. >> i have a feeling by the end of this evening i am going to be blamed for everything that has ever happened. >> why not? >> yeah, why not. >>reporter:it was a spirited debate full of interruptions. >> i know you live in your own reality, but that is not the fax. >> you have no plan. >>reporter: slamming each other's on issues like climate change

of course we get to 23rd and quitman with the lane closures as you travel through highlands ranch. we have quite a few construction projects. a lot of people ask me why didn't you tell me about a construction project? broadcast to cover all of the roads that are being affected. >>> a big apology expected today on the wells fargo focus accounts and a big debut for the runway for boulder-based crocs. we have jill wagner with your business headlines. >> reporter: good morning. investors are in a holding pattern ahead of the fed a the fed thinks the economy is strong enough for an interest rate hike. the head of wells fargo bank will be on capitol hill today. he is expected to apologize. the bank has been accused of having workers create millions of fake accounts in order to get bonuses and boost sales reports. he is not expected to resign. rolling her eyes with crocs making a runway debut. they come in different colors. volk -- vogue says they are chic. i am not sold. >> thanks a lot. >> i like anything that a sparkly. >>> the justice department has launch shooting of an unarmed black

this was on south quitman street and colorado avenue. police are looking for a 2 ton white, long bed at 350 that may be stolen. -- f 350 that may be storm. >>> this 88-year-old woman has been found. she disappeared after leaving for jury duty in arapahoe county. hours later, she was seen at a ?as station in deer trail colorado. she was apparently confused and disoriented but is now safe. >>> it -- at 11:03 am, pretty nice outside. >> the top headline is it's gorgeous. you walk outside, just gorgeous. temperatures starting to climb. it is getting warmer. we are going to see a lot of sunshine and we're going to stay above normal the next couple days. live from our wireless camera at the airport, cllar skies, hard to find a single cloud across the state. we stay under a really sunny that will help warm us three to and then we start to drop. overnight, pretty mild and above normal. clear skies and 50s by tomorrow. we have denver at 82 degrees, fort collins about 84 degrees. closer to 90 degrees across southeastern colorado. here is your firs

back in quitman, the payne house time since that dark december day back in 2007. after the deaths, it was abandoned. the christmas tree still stands today in the living room. nichole's prized garden, just weeds. but her mom tried to hold onto one piece of her daughter's memory. right after nichole's death, she took some rose clippings from her garden. >> she said that this rosebush represented life, hope and beauty. i took seven cuttings off of it. and i took them home. and one by one, they all died. >> reporter: but in what she considers a gift from god, one bush unexpectedly came back and lived. >> and now i have this big, giant rosebush in my regard. it's huge. it's covered in blooms. >> reporter: do you think of nichole every time you see it? >> absolutely. it's just amazing, that one cutting, it survived. >> reporter: it should be called the nichole rose? maybe so. we can rename it. yeah. it was a miracle. >> that's all for now. i'm lester holt. thanks for joining us. >>> this sunday an explosion in new york city injures dozens. another device is founded bloc

back in quitman, the payne house has been virtually frozen in time since that dark december day back in 2007. after the deaths, it was abandoned. the christmas tree still stands today in the living room. nichole's prized garden, just weeds. but her mom tried to hold onto one piece of her daughter's memory. right after nichole's death, she took some rose clippings from her garden. >> she said that this rosebush represented life, hope and beauty. i took seven cuttings off of it. and i took them home. and one by one, they all died. >> reporter: but in what she considers a gift from god, one bush unexpectedly came back and lived. >> and now i have this big, giant rosebush in my regard. it's huge. it's covered in blooms. >> reporter: do you think of nichole every time you see it? >> absolutely. >> reporter: it should be called the nichole rose? >> that's right. maybe so. we can rename it. yeah. it was a miracle. >> that's all for now. i'm lester holt. thanks for joining us. >>> this sunday an explosion in new york city injures dozens. another device away. >> it sounded like a million pian