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00:34I'm Harlan Coben.
00:36The best twists aren't the ones that come out of nowhere.
00:39They're the ones hiding in plain sight.
00:42The ones you could have seen from page one.
00:45I thought about that when I stumbled across the case of a man murdered in his bed,
00:49sleeping next to his wife, with his daughter just down the hall.
00:54No one heard a thing.
00:56No one even woke up.
00:58And that's where our mystery begins.
01:04My dad and I were best friends.
01:07My dad made everyone that he loved happy, and especially me.
01:13I was a daddy's girl for sure.
01:16My dad introduced me to Melissa, and I was super mean to her because I didn't know her.
01:24But she grew on me pretty quickly.
01:26Oh, wow.
01:27For the wedding dressing and everything.
01:30That's cute.
01:30Hey, it's Alyssa.
01:32Aw.
01:33That's my suit of the daughter.
01:35I like you.
01:36I'm good.
01:37Looking good.
01:37Looking good.
01:40The wedding was in Tahoe on the beach.
01:45I just loved getting dressed up and being with everyone.
01:48And I felt really pretty.
01:51Friends and family, may we all please rise for our beautiful bride.
01:56But I also think I liked that my dad and Melissa were going to be together.
02:01I think they have something very special that they want to give you.
02:05She gave me a bracelet to be a part of the wedding so that I knew that I was family,
02:09too.
02:18Just look at each other and go, what the hell have we just been?
02:21What have we done?
02:23I loved every second of it.
02:26But then I don't know if I ever really understood what it was that happened until obviously I got
02:33older.
02:39I don't know if someone broke into our house and shot my husband.
02:42I turned up in the light to wake up my husband and it's really, really bad.
02:46He's dead.
02:48Did you see anybody?
02:49No.
02:50Not at all.
02:52And then my daughter is at home.
02:54What is your name?
02:55Ben Oxley.
02:56And your husband, what is his name?
02:58Ben Oxley.
03:00Police.
03:01Police.
03:02Okay, police are already on their way, okay?
03:07So a man was shot in his sleep, but no one in the house woke up?
03:10Someone's lying.
03:11People are keeping secrets.
03:12She's evil.
03:13She's vile.
03:14Police say a source has come forward with inside information.
03:19A crime happened here.
03:21The past isn't what it seemed.
03:24The story told turns out to be deception.
03:27And just when you're sure you have the answer...
03:29911, what is the address of your emergency?
03:33Hello?
03:34Anyone there?
03:34There's one final twist.
03:51it was 3 30 in the morning there was a dispatch to wild horse lane so my partners and i
03:57you know
03:57we raced to the scene now is apparently 10 44 in the bedroom suicide or homicide i'm not sure
04:04the only thing we knew there was a gunshot we made entry into the residence it's dark and as we're
04:13moving down the hallway melissa steps out of elissa's bedroom she's very upset distraught crying
04:20we continued down the hallway to the master bedroom that's when we discovered ben in a bed
04:26shot in the back of the head
04:30he was laying on his stomach and the back of his head had been blown apart it was open
04:38so i knew i didn't have a self-inflicted gunshot wound i had homicide and i could see the rest
04:44of his brain matter projected onto the pillows next to him
04:51melissa told us there was two other people in the house melissa's brother craig 18 years old almost
04:57an adult and then alissa oxley ben's daughter aged six 782 on scene definitely once the cops came
05:08i remember just screaming that i wanted my dad and i didn't understand obviously what was going on
05:16and why they were keeping him from me
05:29at that point detectives took melissa elissa and craig to the sheriff's office we got to the cop station
05:39i screamed and ran into a corner because they weren't letting me be with melissa
05:55melissa we are going to lose our lives
06:00unfortunately i get to ask you questions and you continue to understand
06:06melissa was the person most close proximity to ben when he was killed
06:10she was laying in bed next to him
06:14she had blood on her hands tissue on her hands some on the side of her face
06:21she appeared very distraught and upset but we were trying to figure out who committed this heinous crime
06:28detectives sculpt a moment a pristine time capsule of everyone's movements and whereabouts
06:34they're searching for a contradiction in the stories
06:37something that doesn't align with what they've heard
06:40that one detail that doesn't line up
06:45in your own words why don't you tell me what happened
07:03you didn't hear the gunshot you didn't feel it i mean how could this happen and you not be aware
07:08i'm thinking it doesn't seem right
07:10i have to confront you on some things to make sure i understand what's going on
07:14why did you not hear
07:16why did you not see anything
07:18like you hear someone going down the hallway or
07:21a shadow
07:23or a car driver went
07:35these are things you think you should know immediately
07:37your husband just got shot
07:38why didn't you get shot
07:39it was very very suspicious
07:42her calling 9-1-1 could have been a ploy to throw us off that she's not involved
07:47i'm going to ask you straight out
07:49did you have any to do with them dying
07:51you didn't shoot him
07:54she denied any allegations
07:56but the information she was giving us didn't make sense
08:00at that point melissa was the prime suspect
08:05so we're looking for motive we're looking for reasons why
08:08is this a domestic situation that got out of hand
08:11how's your relationship with ben then like very close
08:14okay
08:14you guys are beginning to argue with me
08:17so then you have to start picking apart her story
08:20trying to figure out where the lies are
08:23i mean obviously couples argue
08:24we don't
08:25never argue
08:26never argue at all
08:29how did you solve your differences
08:33we have to find a motive
08:42was this over money
08:44how's finances in your house right now
08:48do you guys have a life insurance policy
08:50is it a large amount of money
08:57we found there was a recent life insurance policy taken out on ben
09:01it was four hundred thousand dollars
09:03the policy was not very old
09:06only about three months
09:08melissa being a beneficiary to it
09:11that can be a motive
09:12she'll be married tomorrow
09:13people have done a lot worse for a lot less
09:15see what i'm concerned a little bit
09:18do the right thing for him
09:22tell me the truth
09:35sometimes a case hinges on something hazy
09:39maybe a wife's mid-sleep memory
09:41a surprise witness with a crisis of conscience
09:46or a child's glimpse of a figure in the doorway
09:52why melissa was being questioned
09:55one of our other detectives did speak with alissa in the bay
09:59just asking her what she heard what she saw
10:24do you know who they were
10:26i don't know who it was
10:37i didn't want to believe it was melissa
10:40but they weren't married for that long
10:43and then he's laying next to her
10:46and now he's gone
10:51during the initial walkthrough of the scene
10:53we started seeing small shotgun type pellets
10:56around the bed
10:57and on the floor
10:58which helped us determine
11:00this was a shotgun used in this murder
11:02and looking at the blood spatter
11:05on the walls and on the bed
11:07you would think
11:08there would be
11:08a lot of blood on melissa
11:10a lot of everything on here
11:11and there really wasn't that much
11:13which is more indicative of somebody
11:15who was a shooter
11:16than somebody who was
11:17an unwilling participant
11:18laying next to somebody
11:19when i got up that wouldn't have made anything on me
11:22and see in the problem is that the angle trajectory of everything
11:25there is little pellets that should have struck you
11:29it's the worst feeling thinking that you're getting a boy for your husband
11:41if she had done this and was trying to get away with it
11:44i would expect tears
11:45because that's what you would think i would want to see
11:47she could have gotten a life insurance policy
11:50waited three months
11:51and then committed the act
11:52making it look like a homicide
11:54by some unknown person
11:55so with melissa obviously
11:57this was definitely looking like
11:58maybe she is the shooter
12:02but we really had to keep our minds open
12:04to not go after just one person
12:06without very specific physical evidence
12:12during the search of the residents
12:14we were looking for any type of evidence
12:16that might have been left behind
12:19that's when we discovered
12:21weapons in the house
12:23we found shotguns in the garage
12:26the mash will appear to be the round that killed ben
12:30and then they found shotgun shells
12:32in one of the bedrooms
12:34that craig was using
12:37melissa's brother
12:39the shotgun shells in his bedroom
12:41mash with the shotguns in the garage
12:44so you gotta ask the question
12:46who was melissa's brother
12:51the time is 5 30 a.m
12:53i am here with craig
12:55give me go ahead and tell me what your take on today was
12:57what happened
12:58i went in my room at about 1
13:00melissa was still on the couch
13:01i don't know what time she went to bed
13:03ben was still up watching the movie
13:06i was sleeping
13:08and then all of a sudden
13:08i got woke up from the cuffs
13:10with a bunch of lights in my face
13:12i didn't even hear anything going on
13:14not until you guys got there
13:15i did not hear anything
13:18patrol officers are clearing the house
13:20they're making noise
13:20they're big people with a lot of gear on
13:22so they're not light and quiet
13:24and to find him still sleeping under a bunch of blankets
13:27was kind of odd to us
13:28why are you hiding
13:30you have guns
13:31yeah
13:32and where are those at
13:33in the garage
13:34what'd you get about
13:36the end of hunting season
13:38uh last day
13:39so that would be about a month ago almost
13:43kill the birds
13:44yeah
13:45what'd you got
13:45three geese
13:49craig was an avid hunter
13:53so did melissa use him as a murder for hire
13:56or was there some type of issue between melissa and ben that we didn't know about
14:00and craig took matters into his own hands
14:04there was a substantial insurance policy
14:08so craig nichols relationship to melissa as her brother
14:12meant that he too could be considered financially motivated to commit this crime
14:19to completely eliminate you and craig
14:21help us figure out what may have happened
14:23is there anything else you can pick up that we can start looking at
14:29and do you know that don is fighting for me
14:34don
14:39don was ben's ex-wife
14:42and elissa is their daughter
14:44we learned that after their divorce ben got full custody of elissa
14:48she's a very self-centered person
14:51and she's the only one that i can think that would have ever been killing
14:54what we're doing anyway
14:57elissa's dad
14:58not having a big child support
15:01oh no
15:02revenge
15:03revenge
15:05revenge
15:14crimes between loved ones are tough to untangle
15:18the motive is rarely just money
15:20you can usually trace it back to something more primitive and destructive
15:29my mom was a cocktail waitress at a casino
15:33and that's where my mom and dad met
15:36they did fall in love
15:38and they were really in love for a long time
15:41but that changed
15:46my mom had never specifically talked about why they got divorced
15:51but she always made sure that i knew that she loved me so much and that they took me from
15:58her
16:03are you kidding me she's actually dead
16:06my ex-husband is actually dead
16:08yes
16:09totally and completely dead
16:11she's no longer leaving
16:12she's not here anymore
16:14and my daughter did not
16:15are you kidding me he's not alive
16:19i know this is hard
16:20but you really
16:22need to vote
16:24not only for the sake of this investigation
16:27but also your daughter
16:31with dawn
16:32you know they're called an ex for a reason right
16:34there's usually bad blood there
16:36tell me about your relationship with ben
16:58it doesn't seem like a lot of money that dawn was upset having to pay
17:02but on principle the custody combined with having to pay could be a massive thing to somebody
17:07how does that make you feel
17:09how does that make me feel
17:11the man hates me
17:13he hates me for asking him for the divorce
17:15he hates me for leaving him
17:17he hates me for everything
17:18he got remarried to melissa
17:20and that's who takes care of my daughter
17:22melissa's a good person
17:24i'm sure she could take care of her just fine
17:26but it is my daughter
17:29what hurts is when she calls her mom
17:33don't think i'll have to ask you
17:34did you do it
17:35no
17:37do you know
17:38that's my
17:38my daughter
17:39loves her daddy and i know that
17:42it's a question that we have to ask
17:43okay
17:43no i didn't
17:46don got defensive with us
17:47but i wanted to pull out as much information from her as possible
17:52walk me through
17:53what you did from last night until this morning
17:56um
17:56i got out of work early because i didn't feel good
17:59so i went home
18:01who uh who was at the house last night
18:04um
18:05um my son devon and james
18:10don told us she was home all night
18:12watching a movie with her boyfriend james matleen
18:15she fell asleep about 4 or 4 30 in the morning
18:19and the next thing she knew officers were knocking on her door
18:22waking her up
18:42she had no reason to think don was a suspect
18:47don's dislike for ben
18:49didn't make her a murderer
18:50we didn't think she had it in herself to pull the trigger
18:54okay so just one last question
18:56is there anyone that you can think of at all that would want to hurt ben
19:02it's not that i know of
19:04i mean my ex paul is just so difficult
19:07and he's been in prison
19:10paul
19:11yeah
19:11he did not like ben
19:15paul littler was don oxley's ex-husband prior to ben oxley
19:20he had a lengthy criminal history
19:22paul littler had gone to prison for crimes of violence
19:28we learned through the investigation
19:30paul had always wanted to eliminate ben from the picture
19:33so that sparked our interest
19:35is this a jealous ex-husband
19:37it made a lot of sense it could fit a motive
19:39we were told that paul was in lancaster california
19:42we contacted the local sheriff's office down there who confirmed
19:45he was released from prison days before the homicide
20:01so this guy uh paul he's got a lot of history for armed robberies and drug charges and
20:08incapable of pulling the trigger on somebody
20:12paul littler was now a person of interest for us
20:15so he was brought in for questioning
20:18what can i do here
20:20we want to find the person that killed ben oxley and prosecute him
20:23oh what in the f*** are you talking about
20:25you saying i'm in this or something like that
20:28yeah don's f***er with us and we got a downright f***er
20:31and the intel we got was hey you know her ex is f***ed off and he's gonna do him
20:35well i i can only be honest and truthful
20:38well the whole time i was saying prison
20:40so i thought being really badass was a thing to be you know make a good name for yourself
20:44and i did that
20:47okay but i mean i got it out and i was damn sure i'm gonna kill nobody
20:51and we're back she has a kid by the student
20:56i would never do anything to her don
20:59paul said he had no knowledge of the murder
21:01and he hadn't really talked to don in a long time
21:04he was very open and he had an alibi
21:07we confirmed based on the time frame
21:10there was no possible way for him to be in douglas county
21:13when the murder occurred
21:17so paul he's off the list
21:19yeah okay
21:20now we're looking at the not so obvious stuff like
21:22right
21:23we're trying to find out if there's someone himself passed
21:26they could have come forward and done this
21:29the word victim implies innocence
21:32but to find a killer in the shadows
21:34you must also shine a light on the victim's dark side
21:40and we do what's called a victimology
21:42look through the victim's past lives
21:44and so we're looking at his closest circle
21:47secondary circle third circle
21:49who would want ben dead
21:52ben had a history of being very short-tempered
21:55there was at least two reports on file with the sheriff's office
22:05ben had people that didn't like him
22:07he had enemies
22:08ben owed them money
22:09he's a low-life shady
22:11he'd had neighborhood disputes
22:13friends that were not happy with him anymore
22:18in totality we contacted 79 people
22:21over the course of the investigation
22:23yes ben had issues with people
22:25but we were able to clear them as suspects
22:27we were still missing the most critical piece
22:30which is the evidence
22:34the family we were only getting fragments
22:36bits and pieces
22:37so everybody was a suspect
22:40melissa included
22:42i didn't want to point fingers
22:44but people thought it was melissa
22:46right from the get-go
22:48melissa was never the one
22:50that actually had custody of me
22:52it was my dad
22:53so when he died
22:55i legally went to my biological mother don
22:59that's when i started having a lot more hateful feelings
23:02towards melissa especially
23:06melissa and her brother craig were still top suspects
23:09but we lacked hard evidence
23:11so we did some covert surveillance of melissa and craig
23:15we followed them
23:16i talked to a lot of their friends
23:20melissa appeared to be more of a grieving wife
23:22than she did a person who's out at the bar
23:24you know and partying
23:25we were seeing more of just that person
23:27that lost their husband
23:31and craig
23:32seemed like a really good kid
23:33a solid family kid
23:35he didn't fit the suspect mold
23:39i don't want to say that melissa and craig were eliminated
23:42but they fell very low in the case
23:45a year had passed in the investigation
23:47and we were becoming concerned
23:48this might become a cold case
23:51we needed a big break
23:54and then came a pivoted point in the investigation
24:00david thanks for coming down there
24:01and talking about the case
24:05i was 15 at the time
24:07of ben's murder
24:09what do you do what do you say
24:10who do you tell
24:10let's just start from the beginning
24:12but i felt i needed to finally tell somebody
24:14what happened that night
24:16and who killed ben
24:23criminal intent doesn't just appear out of thin air
24:27it's built in a thousand quiet moments you never see coming
24:30a passing comment
24:32a face in the crowd
24:34they all collide building on each other
24:36until an idea is finally forged
24:40but here's the thing
24:41every single one of those moments
24:43had an observer
24:44a witness
24:46someone standing right there in the shadows
24:52my mom and ben
24:54they were perfect together
24:55and even though i wasn't ben's blood-related son
24:59he treated me like a son
25:01i remember calling him dad
25:03he was dad
25:03i didn't know any better
25:05but when i got older
25:07i looked at him differently
25:10after melissa was born
25:13he cheated on my mom
25:15and that really caused the divorce
25:17and he met melissa
25:19and they started their life together
25:22my mom just spiraled completely after that
25:27i'd come back home from school
25:29and it felt more like a party house
25:31when i needed a safe space to go
25:33i never really had that
25:35because there's just always people there
25:36are getting blitzed out of their minds
25:39they don't have that family vibe to it anymore
25:43and then my world came crumbling down
25:51present is devin mitchell
25:53okay
25:54devin tell me what happened that night
25:56that day after ben was murdered
26:01the police were at her door
26:02i was just hanging out with my mom
26:05and james
26:07all we did was just watch the tv
26:08normal family
26:11do you know who'd want to kill ben
26:15no
26:17i knew i was wrong for not telling the truth
26:20but i also didn't know what would happen if i did tell somebody
26:26but then
26:26over time
26:28i started having a lot of regrets
26:31alissa did come back to live with us
26:33after ben was murdered
26:34and was exposed to
26:37a lot of the stuff that was happening in that house
26:40i just didn't see my mom turn over a new leaf
26:43like stop drinking
26:44it's like things got worse
26:47i came to realize
26:48alissa deserved better
26:51and ben deserved justice
26:55it was a year after the murder
26:57when i felt i needed to finally tell somebody
26:59what i had heard
27:05okay devin
27:06tell me what happened
27:07what do you know about that night
27:10james was over
27:11in the kitchen
27:12talking to my mom
27:13we're all having a good time
27:14i thought james matleen
27:17was just kind of another kid
27:19drinking at the house
27:20he was 20
27:22and it turned out that he was
27:24dating my mother
27:25which is really disturbing
27:26she was much
27:28older
27:28and then i started drinking
27:30drinking more
27:31and then
27:31that's when my mom started getting upset
27:33and started crying
27:34about alissa
27:35my mom really loves alissa
27:36and she like
27:37really wants her
27:38and then she kept going
27:40that she wants ben dead
27:41she kept saying
27:42she was like
27:42oh my god
27:43i just want him dead
27:45james just out of nowhere
27:46kept saying
27:46i'll go kill him right now
27:48as long as it means
27:48you get your daughter
27:49and she kept saying
27:50no
27:50i just want him dead
27:55my mother wanted full custody
27:56of alissa
27:57and they were literally
27:59talking about
28:01going out
28:02and killing him
28:04but you don't think
28:05anything of it
28:06as a teenager
28:07they're both intoxicated
28:09drunk
28:09nothing's gonna happen
28:10the next thing we know
28:12we wake up the next morning
28:13and they said
28:15last night
28:16ben was murdered
28:17in his sleep
28:18i was like
28:19oh my god
28:20that's crazy
28:23i did feel
28:25relief
28:26that i finally told someone
28:27what happened that night
28:30because i knew
28:31it was the right thing to do
28:32at the same time
28:33i was turning in my mother
28:35so like
28:36what's gonna happen now
28:44the interview with devin
28:45pointed towards don and james
28:48committing the murder
28:49but how do we prove it
28:52we had little to no evidence
28:55linking james or don to the murder
28:57we didn't have a murder weapon
28:59we did not have the smoking gun
29:02so we brought them in
29:04what devin tells me is
29:06you guys are having this conversation
29:08the night of the homicide
29:09about
29:11i wish ben was dead
29:12i want him dead
29:13james saying
29:13i'll put a bullet in his head
29:15there's no way in hell
29:16that my son said something like that
29:18you can believe what you want to believe
29:19i know
29:20you can say this straight to my face
29:21i didn't want
29:23ben dead
29:24i would never ever
29:25do that
29:26to him
29:27or to my daughter
29:31from our investigation
29:33we have determined
29:34that you and don
29:35are involved
29:35you think i killed him
29:38i think it's possible
29:39i'm looking you
29:40into your eyes
29:41i did not kill him
29:43i had nothing to do with this
29:44this picture staring me down
29:45does not mean that you didn't do it
29:47i did not know
29:48ben dead
29:49i didn't ask for ben to die
29:50did i kill ben
29:51no
29:52do i know who killed ben no
29:53did don kill ben no
29:55you're trying to get something out of me
29:57that i'm just not there
29:58i'm trying to get the truth
29:59i gave you the truth
30:01the whole truth
30:02yes
30:02i gave you the truth
30:04were you and don
30:05in any way involved
30:06in the planning of the death of
30:07no
30:10james and don
30:11denied any involvement
30:12with the homicide
30:13so we
30:14released them
30:15from the interrogation room
30:17but as
30:18investigation continued
30:20we discovered
30:20a forty dollar
30:21atm transaction
30:22was made
30:23the evening of ben's murder
30:24on don's bank statements
30:26we reviewed cctv
30:27from that establishment
30:28and we found video surveillance
30:30of james
30:30at 1 30 in the morning
30:32prior to the murder
30:34withdrawing cash
30:35from
30:36an atm
30:37don told us
30:38that they
30:39didn't leave the residence
30:40all night
30:40so we knew she was lying
30:43we need to prosecute the person
30:45who fired the weapon
30:47we believe that was james
30:50so we've considered
30:51given don
30:52an immunity agreement
30:56it's a balancing act
30:57am i going to let go
30:59a person that
31:00was an accessory to murder
31:01just to get the murderer
31:03what level of justice
31:04are we willing to bring
31:06ultimately
31:06ultimately
31:07the decision was made
31:08that the family
31:09deserved closure
31:10ben deserved closure
31:11our best chance
31:13at getting a conviction
31:14for this crime
31:15was to offer don
31:16that immunity agreement
31:18by cooperating
31:19with the investigation
31:20providing information
31:21that we could substantiate
31:22she will be immune
31:23or not charged
31:25with any crimes
31:25that she could be culpable for
31:27so it's a plea deal
31:29she made the deal
31:30with the da's office
31:31and agreed to tell us
31:32the truth
31:34are we talking about
31:35the case now
31:36yes
31:36start from the very beginning
31:43no matter how
31:44practiced the script is
31:46any small detail is off
31:47the alibi starts to fray
31:49pull up the right thread
31:51and the whole thing
31:52will unravel
31:55the day before the homicide
31:57start from that
31:58we just want the truth
32:01dawn and her story
32:03she was frustrated
32:05about losing custody
32:06of alissa
32:07she was venting
32:08and james being intoxicated
32:11told her
32:11well i'll blow his head
32:12off the shotgun
32:13i never thought
32:14he would actually do that
32:16dawn then stated
32:17that she went to bed
32:20and next thing
32:21james waking her up
32:22saying
32:23it's done
32:24ben is dead
32:24and i'm thinking
32:25are you serious
32:26i mean seriously
32:27right now
32:27you're telling me
32:28the cops are gonna
32:29show up at my house
32:30because my ex-husband's
32:31dead
32:31and that's about
32:32the time you guys
32:34start pounding on the
32:35door
32:36with the vague memory
32:37of alissa hearing
32:38someone coming into her
32:39room
32:39my theory was that
32:41that would have been
32:41james looking to see
32:42if she was in her
32:43bedroom
32:43that she was in fact
32:44asleep
32:45and or to ensure
32:46that she wouldn't be
32:47in bed next to
32:48ben or melissa
32:51at this point
32:52we finally had
32:54enough evidence
32:54to charge james
32:56with homicide
33:03but before
33:04the trial starts
33:06james reaches out
33:07with his attorney
33:07and stated
33:08he wanted to talk
33:21at night on february
33:2220th
33:23don was upset
33:25she was pissed off
33:26we started
33:26we started drinking
33:28multiple shots
33:29in the garage
33:30brings up the
33:31conversation they had
33:32the night before
33:32at don's residence
33:33with them drinking
33:35i said i'll take care
33:36of ben
33:37she said i don't want
33:37you to take care of
33:38ben i want you to
33:38kill ben
33:40and then from there
33:41it just escalated
33:42i told don that
33:44i would need
33:44some things
33:45james says
33:46he goes to 7-eleven
33:47takes out
33:48$40 in cash
33:49he drives to walmart
33:50he buys latex gloves
33:52paper towels
33:53shoes
33:5310x suit
33:54a flashlight
33:55didn't know
33:56how to get in
33:56the van's house
33:57or way out
33:58of the house
33:59in his statement
34:00he said he didn't
34:01know where the
34:01residence was
34:02or the layout
34:03so he took
34:04don with him
34:09on the way
34:09to ben's house
34:12don had
34:13asked if i
34:14killed
34:14melissa too
34:17and
34:20i agreed to it
34:23the twist of the story
34:24is don asked him
34:26to kill melissa
34:27as well
34:29the door's been locked
34:30so we go in the house
34:32we go down the hallway
34:34and as i'm walking down the hallway
34:36don stops in front of an open doorway
34:39which was
34:40alissa's bedroom
34:42james sees
34:43don stop
34:45at alissa's doorway
34:48i woke just fast asleep
34:50but i woke up
34:52and saw someone
34:53walking in
34:55i don't know
34:56who it was
34:58don't want to
34:59that she's gonna take alissa
35:00i said you can't take alissa
35:02and you know
35:02that we did this
35:03and then order her
35:04back out to the truck
35:06james walks into
35:07ben's bedroom
35:08puts the shotgun
35:09through the back of his head
35:10i don't know how long
35:12i was standing there
35:13things are going through my mind
35:15like
35:17what am i doing
35:18to get in the back
35:19of somebody's head
35:21i don't know if it was it
35:23um
35:24melissa
35:24or what it was
35:27something happened
35:28i jolted
35:29and i pulled the trigger
35:30i shot ben
35:36james said
35:38after he shot ben
35:39he was frightened
35:39so he ran out of the house
35:41so he never shot melissa
35:44so the shotgun
35:46the shotgun was grinded up
35:47and thrown in the police department
35:50james said
35:51he threw the shotgun away
35:52in the sheriff's office dumpsters
35:53i think more
35:54it was a dig at us
35:55to say
35:56it was under your nose
35:57the whole time
36:06james was head over heels for dawn
36:09and she took advantage of that
36:11she manipulated him into doing what she thought would solve her problems
36:16the person that planned it or orchestrated it is maybe even more culpable than the person
36:22that actually just did the job
36:24my client would plead guilty to first degree murder but the person ultimately responsible for his finger on the trigger
36:31is don oxley
36:33but because of her agreement
36:35she was immune from criminal prosecution in douglas county for the rest of her life
36:40and that's a tragedy
36:44ultimately dawn was behind this
36:46but sadly melissa took a lot of blame
36:49those early theories against melissa
36:51the financial motive
36:53the lack of blood splatter
36:55those were proven to be just theories
36:58in reality she was being honest
37:03melissa she's waking up to her husband being killed
37:07and then you got everybody saying that she did it
37:10what does that do to a person
37:13emotionally the damage you have caused me is almost unbearable
37:16for elissa
37:18you crumbled her foundation
37:21and everything she knew to be right and true
37:26it was a lot for her
37:27and she stayed strong through it
37:32for james pleading guilty was probably nerve-wracking
37:36because there was only two choices
37:37life without the possibility of parole
37:40or life with the possibility of parole
37:43life without the judge
37:46the murder charge you're sentenced to life in prison
37:50james was ultimately sentenced to life in prison without parole
38:06looking back on it
38:07i almost feel like at fault
38:10maybe if i would have just stayed up a little later
38:12instead of going to sleep he'd still be alive now
38:16my sister
38:18she should have a dad
38:21me being the bigger brother
38:22i should have been the protector
38:29i love my brother a lot
38:31and it's not his fault that any of it happened
38:35and it just sucks that he was going through that
38:39by himself
38:42at the end of james's sentencing hearing melissa said elissa has something to say to james
38:49she looked up and said i was really mad at you
38:57but i forgive you
39:00and i've always been impacted
39:05by that amazing level of kindness
39:10i don't know if i knew what forgiveness was at the time
39:19i didn't feel like i wanted him to be gone for life
39:25melissa petitioned the court for full custody of elissa and she got granted it
39:33when melissa thought guardianship of me i was really happy to be back with her
39:40but my relationship with dawn was complicated i mean she was my mom but by the time i had grown
39:50up i chose to not have her a part of my life
39:56i just felt it was more appropriate to cut things off from her
40:00she started delving more into serious drugs you know that was the reason why she got put in the hospital
40:07she ended up having a stroke and she went brain dead and she died
40:16after all the loss my dad my mom
40:20i still have a lot to process
40:23and who knows how long that's going to take
40:26but i try to hold on to all the good memories of my dad
40:34i just want to thank everybody for showing up and being a part of our wedding
40:39it's a blessing
40:47ben was the only father figure that i had
40:51and he should be remembered as a loving father
40:55loving husband wonderful brother a best friend
41:00he was a wonderful person who deserved life
41:06for those people that are also going through stuff like this i hope that they know that
41:11they have others that get it
41:14we are real people
41:20this season
41:21we saw how an investigation can twist from a suspected professional hit
41:25to a reckless amateur
41:27how the police can twist from heroes to criminals
41:31how suspicion can twist to fall on one's own family
41:34or on someone who never existed at all
41:36each layer of deception we entangle brings us closer to the truth
41:41and in fiction that's where the chapter ends
41:44but in real life
41:46the pages keep turning
41:48the twists keep coming
41:51i'm harlan cobin
41:52good night
41:53good night
41:55good night
41:56good night
42:10be the music
42:12be the music
42:12be the music
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