>> reporter: the man on the phone was tom fallis, begging for help, and willing his wife to live. >> no! >> sir? >> you're staying here! >> sir? >> you're staying here! >> reporter: tom told the dispatcher, she shot herself, and then he put the phone down. he was holding his hand to her head, trying in vain to stop the bleeding. so, he had his 9-year-old daughter pick up the phone. >> honey, are you there? >> yes. >> okay. can you go open the door and let the officers in? >> yes. >> okay? >> mommy got shot. >> okay. we're going to help her. i need you to open the door. >> reporter: brian spencer was a weld county sheriff's deputy back then. he arrived within minutes to discover that the local police, the evans police, had beaten him there. >> i believe there was three there ahead of me. and then there was more sirens, lights. you could hear them coming. >> reporter: that's a pretty fast response. >> very fast. >> reporter: and this bit of news was going around fast, too. >> this was a sheriff's employee, a jail employee. >> reporter: not that that should matter. the effort then was sa

they i think truly believe that tom fallis killed their daughter.are never gonna let that go. >> reporter: an idea, once so deeply ingrained, true or not, will not go away. and tom fallis and his children make a life as best they can. that's all for now. i'm lester holt. thank you for joining us. >>> this sunday, trump's terrible week. a rough debate. 3:00 a.m. tweets. and an obsession with the 1996 miss universe. >> she was the winner, and you know, she gained a massive amount of weight. and it was a real problem. >> now, a report that trump could have avoided paying taxes for 18 years. i'll talk to trump supporter rudy giuliani and clinton campaign manager robby mook. >>> plus, a lead opinion lined up against donald trump, but to what effect? i'll take to anti-establishment voices from the left and right. michael moore and glenn beck. >>> also, the vp debate. how much will tuesday's pence-kain face-off