She was your wife, mother of your children. Its awful. I wouldnt wish that on anybody. Her ex had been to visit the day she died. A trip with the kids. And just like that, he was suspect number one. They had no evidence. I was absolutely flabbergasted. How can anyone think this . Police said they were a key to the mystery, his own young children. She says she peeks through the mail slot. She looks in the mail slot, yes. Daddy was in the living room. Ideas were planted in their mind. Were going to prove that hes innocent. Two children on the stand. What did they see . That was the hardest thing. Because i love them so much. I didnt do this. I think youre good to go. All right. Thanks for sitting down with us. Youre welcome, thanks for having me. Did you take a butcher knife and plunge it into ciaras neck and kill her . No. While the kids were waiting outside . Absolutely not. That did not happen . No. Credibility. The reliability of yearsold memories. Theres a lot of that ahead, because this is the story of a murder. June 8th, 2012. Columbus, georgia. It was an apartment Maintenance Man who found her. Shed been stabbed to death upstairs in the bedroom. In the kitchen sink, a butcher knife. The victim was ciara ingram, a 28yearold nurse and mother. Her good friend kendra smith said she hadnt been answering her phone for days. At first i thought, you know, why didnt i go down there . Well, i knew something was wrong. Police would later estimate ciara had been dead in her apartment nearly a week. I think i think i was so distraught she was gone that i dont really think that at the time i put a lot of thought into like who did it or why. Apartment managers told the arriving officers that ciara had small children. So one of the detectives first questions was, where are the kidding now . That led to a bigger question, one all homicide inspectors asked. What is the backstory here . What was this victims life all about . They began piecing together the story of ciara and jarod. She was your wife, the mother of your children. What do you think about her end, the brutality of it . Its awful. I went wish that on anybody. She met jarod when they both enlisted in the army in the early 2000s. He and a friend cozied up to the pretty young recruit and tried to get her attention. We started talking about how none of the soldiers who got off the last bus looked like they were going to make it. And she stood up and she challenged me and she said, im going to be at the top of the class. I said, okay, and asked her if she wanted to go out that weekend. You had a momentous early date. Is that too nosey a question . You know what im referring to . I do. Our first date, we conceived a child . Yes. Were you okay with that . Yeah. I was okay, and i was excited. Id always wanted to be a father. My father wasnt in my life and my stepfather died when i was very young so that was something that i wanted to be. Ciara and jarod, intimate strangers, decided to make a go of it when the army forced them into a quick decision. Get married or be stationed apart. When we got in the cab to go get our marriage license, the cab driver mentioned to us that she was also a licensed pastor. So she drove to us her church, we got married on the steps. You got married by your cab driver . We got married by our cab driver. Onestop shopping. Yeah. The army, as the army does, moved them about. They tried to build a happy home, had another child. But jarod acknowledged they werent good at living together. Once we got married, we actually had our first argument that evening. On the ten scale, how active an argument was this . A good eight. That set the tone for the rest of the relationship. That was every night. Why dont you guys just shake hands and say, see ya later, its been nice . The kids, mainly. And there was always an ebb and flow where things would seem like they would get a little bit better and then it would go back. Now shes got three babies. Right. Is that where you feel like you have to knuckle down as a dad or make this impossible relationship really work . Exactly. How are you going to do it . I just said yes. No matter what it was, no matter what was going on, just yes dear was the response. And that went on for about eight or nine months and it just it still wasnt getting better. They decided coparenting was the arrangement that worked best for them. They divorced in 2009 and shared custody. By then theyd both left the military. Ciara had become a nurse. Her friend at coworker at the hospital, samela payne, says the main thing keeping ciara in georgia was being near her ex. She didnt want the children to be without their father. She tried her best to coparent. You understand she didnt have anybody here. She sacrificed her shortterm happiness right. For the kids . For her children. Thats the type of mother she was. Her friend kendra lived in tennessee, but they were as close as could be. When did you talk . End of the day . Start of the day, middle of the day . All day. We were single moms dealing with our exes. She was my support system, and hopefully she thought of me as hers. Tell me about her personality. Who was ciara . She was very positive. She was very energetic, she was a runner, she ran every day. She was definitely a compassionate person, very loving. She was a great mom. By june 2012, ciara decided it was time for a fresh start. She made a plan to move home to indiana to be near her family. Their kids, ages 6 and 7, would stay with jarod for the summer and join her later. Was she dating again . Yes, she was, absolutely. She was young. So of course, you know, she didnt want to be alone, you know. In fact, even before the move to indiana, shed already met a guy online who lived up there. He was going to help her move. He was going to come down to georgia. He had made plans. Bought a plane ticket. And that brings us back to ciaras apartment and the bloody bedroom. As ciaras moving day approached, kendra noticed her friends daily texts and phone calls had stopped completely. I didnt talk to her on the 2nd. So on the 3rd i messaged her and got nothing. So i was like, okay, shes busy. Called her. Then on the 4th, started getting worried some more. You wondered, is she ditching me here . I thought, okay, she dropped her phone in the toilet. But then you think about, okay, well, theres other phones in the world. Or send me an email, hey, im not ignoring you. Samela was worried too. Shed helped plan a Goodbye Party for ciara at the hospital, i remember sitting around the table, all the coworkers looking at each other. You fully expected she was going to walk in the door . I want her to, but i knew something was wrong. Samela was at work june 8th when ciaras brother called her with the news. I answered the phone. He told me, we just found ciara dead. I dont remember nothing else after that. Jarod says he got a call that afternoon as well. There was crime scene tape up at his exwifes apartment. The coroner was there too. He says he feared the worst and went to go talk to the children, just 6 and 7 years old. We said a prayer. I told them, no matter what happens, i love you very much. Didnt tell them any details. But i told them, you know, something might be going on with mommy, we dont know yet. Asked if they had any questions. Did they . Yes. My son asked me if he could have some candy. Did he know his mom was dead . He didnt know. I didnt know. We at this point only had assumptions and worries and fears. Assumptions. Worries. Fears. And that was just day one. Coming up i see an officer approaching me with his gun drawn and he raised it up and he said dont move. Police have some questions for jarod. Youre the last one that i know of to see her. There is something that you want to talk about . And for the man ciara had met online whats going on, officer . Oh my god. When what they saw continues. Honey honey . New nyquil severe honey is maximum strength cold and flu medicine with soothing honeylicious taste. Nyquil honey. The nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever best sleep with a cold medicine. Stand up to moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. And take. It. On. With rinvoq. Rinvoq a oncedaily pill. Can dramatically improve symptoms. Rinvoq helps tame pain, stiffness, swelling. And for some. Rinvoq can even significantly reduce ra fatigue. Thats rinvoq relief. With ra, your overactive immune system attacks your joints. Rinvoq regulates it to help stop the attack. Rinvoq can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious infections and blood clots, sometimes fatal, have occurred. As have certain cancers, including lymphoma, and tears in the stomach or intestines, and changes in lab results. Your doctor should monitor your bloodwork. Tell your doctor about any infections. And if you are or may become pregnant while taking rinvoq. Take on ra talk to your rheumatologist about rinvoq relief. Rinvoq. Make it your mission. If you cant afford your medicine, abbvie may be able to help. If you cant afford your medicine, the teams been working around the clock. Wire, weve had to rethink our whole approach. Were going to give togetherness. Logistically, its been a nightmare. Im not sure its going to work. Itll work. I didnt know you were listening. Ciara ingram was dead, stabbed three times in the neck and left to die at the foot of her bed. Her exhusband jarod was tending to their two children when a Police Officer reached him on the phone. He asked me if the kids were okay, i said yes, theyre fine. He said theyre going to send a counselor to talk to me and the kids. As i approach, i see out of my peripheral vision an officer approaching me with his gun drawn. He raised it up and he said, dont move. And so i put my hands up, he pressed me against the wall and put my hands behind my back and cuffed me. Before he could get his bearings, jarod said his kids were whisked off in an suv. Jarod okayed a search of his home and was taken to the Police Station for an interview. Im detective fairbairn. Im detective lyon. The conversation started amicably. Jarod said the last time hed seen ciara was six days before. He and the kids had stopped by to pick up some toys before her move to indiana. Kids went in, gave her a hug. They ran right upstairs and started playing with some of their toys and watching tv and stuff. How long were you there for . Um it seemed like a couple of hours. He said they hadnt talked since. That wasnt unusual. We didnt call each other a whole lot when the other one had the kids usually. Uh she wasnt like one of those who wanted to call every day. Detectives wanted to joe about the state of jarod and ciaras relationship. How had they been getting along . He said they hadnt had any issues lately, but admitted things between them were strained. Whats been the problem . No problem. Just once we broke up, i felt like, you know, there was no reason to have an argument with her anymore that after that. They also asked jarod how he felt about ciaras decision to move to indiana. I didnt feel any kind of way about it, really. Did she ask you . No. So she just said, im im leaving . Yeah. But i mean, that was her. After about an hour, the interview took a turn when detectives hit jarod with a revelation. As far as they could tell, no one had heard from ciara since jarods visit with the kids. Meaning jarod was quite possibly the last person known to have seen ciara alive. I feel like youre more than insinuating that im responsible for ciaras death. I dont know. Right now, i dont i i the only thing i know is youre the last one that i know of to see her, and so far youre the last one i know that was there. Now is there something you want to talk to me about . No. Are you sure about that . Im sure. The detective told jarod that as they were speaking, officers were spooling through the video cameras at ciaras apartment complex . What are you feeling right now . Im feeling like i cant wait until you get finished with the rest of that videotape. Mmhmm. And, im feeling scared [ bleep ] until you do. Thats what im feeling right now. Now, why would you be scared . Because if i was the last one that saw her alive, then youre going to put it on me. Well, im not going to put something on anybody. Im going to take the evidence for what its worth. And a look at some of the evidence made it seem unlikely that jarod could have done it. The murder was brutal. Bloody. And jarods two small children had been there with him the whole time. Though jarod did mention that as they readied to leave the apartment, the kids went outside first. They went outside to the car while i was talking to her. And i came outside and she came outside and that was it. It wasnt, like, a long period of time. Did detectives really think jarod had something to do with his exwifes murder, or were they just pressing him because he was the exhusband . They ended the interview on friendly terms. I appreciate you coming in. I appreciate you being cooperative. I appreciate you guys doing what youre doing. It had been a very long night. Jarod says he was just desperate to hug his kids whod lost their mother. You can see why you became a figure of interest here . When i sit back and put myself in the shoes of the Police Officers, absolutely. They show up at ciaras house, they find her body, they go, they pick me up. Back at the crime scene, investigators looked for clues to fill in the story. Could it have been a botched robbery . It was hard to tell if anything had been taken. The apartment was in such disarray with moving boxes. And there were no signs of a forced entry. But there was an attempt to clean up the scene with bleach. And they did find a mans watch tucked into the sheets of ciaras bed. Who could that belong to . What about this guy shed met online, the man flying in to help her move . This is sergeant deaton with the Police Department in columbus, georgia. Yes, sir. His name was ryan morgan. Detectives got him on the line. Were you supposed to come down, come here to help her move . Yes, i was, and then about a week before, i she quit texting me. Ryan thought hed been ghosted. Said that hed canceled his plane ticket. And i just text her back. I said hey, thanks a lot for the thoughtfulness and thanks for wasting my money. Detectives didnt tell him right away why they were calling. Whats going on, officer, if you dont mind me asking, because im freaking, im like, well [ bleep ], whats happened . She she was killed. The reason you didnt hear anything from her was she was murdered. Youve got to be [ bleep ] me. No. Holy [ bleep ]. Was that genuine surprise . Oh, my god. Of course, theyd have to check out ryans story and pick through every detail of the last day of ciaras life. That meant talking to her children. What did they see . What did they hear . Coming up daddy wasnt in the living room. He was still upstairs. That final family visit. What was happening inside their mothers apartment . What did you hear . Laughing, almost screaming. You heard screaming . Screaming noises or Something Else . Like laughing, screaming. When what they saw continues. Needles. Essential for sewing, but maybe not for people with certain inflammatory conditions. Because there are options. Like an unjection™. Xeljanz. The first and only pill of its kind that treats moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, or moderate to Severe Ulcerative Colitis when other medicines have not helped enough. Xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections. Before and during treatment, your doctor should check for infections, like tb and do blood tests. Tell your doctor if youve had hepatitis b or c, have flulike symptoms, or are prone to infections. Serious, sometimes fatal infections, cancers including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. Taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra may increase risk of death. Tears in the stomach or intestines and serious allergic reactions have happened. Needles. Fine for some. But for you, theres a pill that may provide symptom relief. Ask your doctor about the pill first prescribed for ra more than seven years ago. Xeljanz. An unjection™. Kendra smith felt shed found a Kindred Spirit when she met ciara ingram. Losing her was awful. Every day, id get in my car, id cry all the way to work because i talked to her every day on my way to work. You know . Every day on my way home. I mean, id just be in tears all the way home. Samela payne felt hollowed out when she heard. Her good friend, fellow nurse, gone just like that. So you were going to be friends for life, no matter where absolutely. Each of you traveled to, huh . Absolutely. We were family. The day after she got the news, samela drove to ciaras home. She just had to see the place with her own eyes. You went to the scene . I went to the scene, because i i just still did not want to believe that she was gone. So everythings yellowtaped i was in denial and closed off. Right . I was in denial that my friend was gone. She spoke to an officer who was there guarding the crime scene. What did you talk to him about . Any and everything that i can remember that that she would tell me and what she was going through. And what samela said about her conversations with ciara caught the officers ear, because it certainly didnt match jarods story. This postdivorce relationship was more than just a little strained. Samela says ciara had long confided in her that it was tumultuous. She would tell me how he would break her computers, break tvs just, im mad at you. Bang. Heres one for your computer. Oh yeah. Yeah. The way the stories went, jarod would lash out if he couldnt get his way. Did he ever get physical with her, sam, as far as you knew . She told me that, yes. But you didnt see any bruising or scratches or anything like that, huh . No. If she did, she would hide it. Shes the type that want to be strong. She didnt want you to be upset or worried about her. As for jarod, he told us any stories about abuse in his relationship with ciara just werent true. Were there any handson altercations here . Her on you . You on her . Absolutely not. She threw some thing small things. Not like a remote control. Jared told us anyone who knew ciara well, knew that she wouldnt put up with abuse. She was a very fierce woman. She had her way. Shes not going to let you tell her any different and shes very determined. I couldnt see her being in an abusive relationship. Of course, he says, he and ciara had plenty of scorching disagreements during their marriage, but once they split, the drama ended, and, he says, they shared responsibility for the kids amicably. Coparenting, and very successfully. We didnt have any arguments while we were separated. We didnt have any arguments about the kids or their care. We pretty much come to all agreements on that sort of thing. I think the Biggest Issue we ever had was that she cut my sons hair, i didnt really like that. He had a big puffy afro and it was really cute on him and i liked it. But given what investigators had heard, they were now very focused on jarod. Did he have any opportunity to murder his ex, what with the kids in tow . Jarod said he put the kids in the car and went back inside ciaras place to get the last of their things. Two kids, sitting in the backseat of a car, a boy and a girl age 6 and 7. What did they see . What did they hear in the next few moments of their lives . And importantly, what would they say about it . The police talked to the children the day they discovered ciaras body. What grade are you in . Um, kindergarten. The kids confirmed that for at least some period of time, mom and dad had been inside the apartment without them. Why would daddy leave you and your brother in the car . I dont know. You dont know . He never leaves us in the car. Here they are talking to a forensic interviewer a few days later. Why do you think daddy made you stay in the car . Maybe hes doing something. Jarods 6yearold daughter says she got restless and did what 6yearolds do. She says she got out of the car and went to the door, lifted the mail slot and peered inside. She told investigators she saw her dad. What was he doing . I forgot. I mean, was he standing . Was he sitting . Was he he was standing. Was he just standing there doing nothing . Did he have something in his hand . Did he no. He was just standing there doing nothing. She says he told her to go back to the car but she says she peeked in again. Investigators were interested in what she saw and what she says she heard. Mommy was still laughing, but but she she sounded like she was somewhere. Daddy wasnt in daddy wasnt in the living room, he was still upstairs. Mommy was still laughing, though. Her brother says he got out of the car, too, and he also heard the laughter. Or was it Something Else . Whatd you hear . Uh, laughing. Almost screaming. You heard screaming . Uhhuh. Yeah . Tell me, did you hear were they saying like, screaming noises . Or Something Else . Like like laughing, screaming. Yeah . Screaming . What in the world was going on inside ciaras home while the children waited outside . Coming up if youre asking, did i think he did it, it was an absolute no. A new relationship for jarod. And new questions about those interviews with the children. Those statements that come out later are, in my opinion, conditioning. What do you mean . The police are suggesting something for the children to say. When what they saw continues. Centrum helps your immune defenses every day, with vitamin c, d and zinc. Season, after season. Ace your immune support, with centrum. Youre still the one that i love to touch still the one and i cant get enough were still having fun, and youre still the one applebees 2 for 20. Now thats eating good in the neighborhood. Of but never for bladder leaks. That fits like this. New always discreet boutique black. I love how the smooth fit hugs my curves, no matter how i move. And, i feel protected all day. A fit so discreet, youd never know theyre for bladder leaks. Always discreet boutique. Wanna see for yourself . Get your coupon. Sprinting past every leak in our softest, smoothest fabric. Shes confident, protected, her strength respected. Depend. The only thing stronger than us, is you. Hello, im dara brown. Heres whats happening. The bond fire is prompting evacuations in Southern California after burning 7,300 acres. The bond fire startled at one home in eastern Orange County wednesday night. By saturday, just 40 of the fire had been contained. Californias pacific gas and electric is warning some 130,000 customers across 15 counties could lose power by monday morning as gusty winds fuel those fires. Now back to dateline. In the weeks following ciaras murder, investigators compiled their evidence. There were those Police Interviews with the children. And they had ciaras cell records showing her phone went silent around the time jarod was at her apartment. There wasnt a single phone call or text after 6 39 p. M. On june 2nd. And the only wisp of a lead, that guy from indiana who was going to help ciara move. She was murdered. Youve got to be [ bleep ] me. Well, his alibi checked out. And that left one person, jarod. So on july 1st, a month after ciaras murder i was leaving to go to work. And then people started getting out of their cars and putting their hands up like this, saying, you know, dont move, youre under arrest. Jarod was charged with murder and spent the next 15 months in jail before posting bond and being released. By then, hed lost custody of his son and daughter. Theyd moved to indiana to be with ciaras mom. Are the kids taking your phone calls . Because im sure youre trying to reach them. At this point, part of my bond agreement is that i cannot speak with anyone in ciaras family, including my children. So thats a whole area of your life thats gone away. So no contact. Yes. What are you doing for work . At first, nothing. I couldnt find a job. My work was trying to find work. Nobody would hire up. Nobody. So, you hadnt been indicted at this point, the story is still following. Oh, yeah. The story is there. Jarod says he started attending church and began reaching out to old friends, like katie duke, a girl he knew from High School Band days. I always had a thing for him, even in high school. But it was just not good timing, it never was. This wasnt exactly great timing either. After all, jarod was accused of murdering his exwife. What did you think . If youre asking, did i think he did it, it was an absolute no. Why would they even think this . And how could it have possibly come to this . And youre saying that because of the guy you knew, the yeah. The character of the man . The the character, just how could it how could it possibly anyone think this . Their relationship grew from a friendship into something more. Howd you decide youre going to get married . We started talking about it, and it was a lot of back and forth. Because with Something Like this hanging over your head, do you wait until everything is over and then get married . That sounds sensible, right . Katie disagreed. I basically told him, im im ready, ill marry you, you know. They began their married life together in a kind of limbo waiting for jarod to go on trial. He still hadnt been indicted. What was taking so long . Jarod and katie kept their anguish quiet. A lot of people in the church didnt even know his story, right . No. Then, january 2017, 4 1 2 years after the murder, the indictment came down and a trial date was set. No more secrets now. What did you think when you heard . In my mind initially was just, its impossible. Debbie duke is katies mom. Laura duff and jim odonnell are Church Friends. Did you ever think, my goodness, this young mans a killer. No. Debbie . No. Not for a second. The very notion that somebody could consider jarod capable of this was beyond my belief. Theres just simply no way i could apply my brain to that. The support wasnt just moral. The Church Friends offered to help any way they could. We had two or three people come up and says, well, what can we do . Ill like, well, pray. But one of them said, well, come on, theres something we could do. What about all that paperwork . Couldnt you use help with that . And im like, that would be wonderful. That paperwork was the case against jarod. Mounds of documents, police reports, audio and video recordings. And to mount a defense, they would need to understand it. My lawyer was very good, but he has a small practice, just him and his wife. And so, as far as legwork, theres not theres not 100 paralegals going around to do Legal Research for him. We had all the paperwork all over the table, all over the kitchen, the whole that part of the house was just covered. Jarod and katie transformed their kitchen into a war room. And those Church Friends became legal assistants of sorts. They vowed to be objective. I was a true believer in jarods character, okay . But if the evidence had persuaded you otherwise had the evidence persuaded me otherwise, i wouldve gone with the evidence. The Ad Hoc Church team divvied up the work. Jim, a software wiz, took a crack at the cell phone records. And it took me some study and everything to try to figure this out. But it came down to numbers. Simple math. According to the cell records, ciara was alive and on her phone at 6 39 p. M. Three minutes later, 6 42 p. M. , jarods cell records indicate he is still at ciaras apartment. And 26 minutes after that, jarods phone pings off a tower that the friends estimate is a good 15 to 20minute drive away from ciaras apartment. Theres not enough time here for him to have committed the crime. And the telephone traffic persuades us of this . Yes. The math doesnt work. It just simply doesnt work. At least by their calculations. Then jarods supporters looked at the bloody crime scene photos, which raised more questions in their minds. And the fact that, if you bludgeoned someone the way the pictures show, how do you walk out of an apartment without completely showering, changing your clothes and doing all that . That would add even more time. I mean theres going to be blood everywhere. But thats the only way he could have gotten the blood off of him, would have been sprayed, would have been to run through a shower on his way out the door. Because there because tick tock, tick tock, hes got to get to that other tower. Absolutely. He wasnt wet. He didnt change clothes. And there were no none of his clothes ever found with any evidence on them. The friends then turned to those interviews with the kids, and they transcribed every word. Including the interview where jarods son says he heard screaming. What did you hear . Uh, laughing some almost screaming. You heard screaming. Yeah. They noticed that interview took place five days after ciaras body was found. But in the police file, the friends found an earlier interview. The sons story about what he heard on that occasion was completely different. Heres that interview. Did you hear anything when daddy was inside . I didnt hear nothing. Jarods supporters wondered where his son could have gotten the idea of screaming . The first time it comes up on the tapes is in a question from police just hours after they found ciaras body. Was mama screaming or daddy screaming or hollering . Nobody was screaming or nothing . Nuhuh. Theres absolutely nothing incriminating about their initial testimonies. Those statements that come out later are, in my opinion, conditioning. What do you mean . I mean that the police are suggesting something for the children to say. And if you suggest something to a child of that age whos impressionable, its possible that they may say, yeah, i guess it could have been that. And there was Something Else laura picked up on. I could hear it, one of the investigators whispering under their breath, trying to tell the children to Say Something on their recorded interviews. Shes referencing that were spoken about in the car ride to the Police Station that werent recorded. And they tried really, really hard to get the kids to Say Something that didnt happen. You remember that . Say yes. I mean, do you remember that . Was the officer putting words in his mouth . Its hard to say. But the children would speak about that day again, this time in court, where theyd be the chief witnesses against their father. Coming up whats the little girl see . She sees her father standing. He is changing his shirt, and he has a white bottle beside him. Two young witnesses with powerful stories to tell. Were those children coached to give details of their story . Never. When what they saw continues. Do i have to do anyth . burke nothing. customer nothing . burke nothing. customer nothing . burke nothing. customer hmm, that is really something. burke you get a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks. See ya. kid may i have a balloon, too . burke sure. Your parents have maintained a farmers home policy for twelve consecutive months, right . We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum burke start with a quote at 1800farmers. You can crush ice, make nismoothies, and do even more. Chop salsas, spoon thick smoothie bowls, even power through dough, and never stall. The ninja foodi power pitcher. Rethink what a blender can do. What if your clothes could stay fresh for weeks . Smell clean . Now they can downy unstopables inwash scent boosters keep your laundry smelling fresh way longer than detergent alone. Pour a cap of downy unstopables into your washing machine before each load and enjoy fresher smelling laundry. With 6 times the freshness ingredients, downy unstopables gives you more of what you love. If you want laundry to smell fresh for weeks make sure you have downy unstopables inwash scent boosters. Is often unseen. Because the pain youre feeling could be a sign of irreversible joint damage. Every day you live with pain, swelling, and stiffness. You risk not being able to do the things you love. Especially in these times, its important to keep up with your rheumatologist. Schedule an appointment today. Itssnarrow it down to alls withthe. Karate moms. St. With a sudden, desperate need for brown sugar. Meaning, you. Youre the one we made mywalgreens for. With pickup in as little as 30 minutes. To make saving, shopping. And holiday chaos a little easier. Wait are those ninjabread men . Hiya introducing mywalgreens. Join for 30minute pickup at walgreens. Com in the spring of 2018, nearly six years after ciara ingram was brutally murdered, jarod ingram entered a Muscogee County courtroom in columbus, georgia, to stand trial as her accused killer. But he wasnt alone. Youre behind your husband in the uhhuh. Church pews there in the courtroom, huh . Yep. Was it important you had you show solidarity, that you have a lot of people . We felt so, yes. We invited anybody to come and just let the jury see how much jarod is loved and how much support and love that he has sitting behind him. Muscogee County District attorney julia slater and her team hoped the jury would be persuaded not by jarods supporters, but rather by the cold hard facts of the case. Is it your belief that jarod ingram murdered his exwife, ciara . Yes. While the kids are waiting in the car. Yes. And the motivation for this crime was what . He did not want ciara to move with the children to indiana, and would do anything to prevent that. And his life was going to be better how with her dead . He might have access to the children and he would not have to worry about the children being moved away. The prosecution called friends like samela payne, who testified that ciara told her numerous times that jarod was threatening, violent. Was that unnerving for you . No, because i wanted justice for ciara. It its too long, it had been too long. I just had to do what i had, you know, my part. Hes sitting there. Yeah, to the left of me. You couldnt look at him. No, i was too disgusted. I hate him. I hate to say that, but i do. Um and i just didnt look. The prosecution said jarod had another motive. To the tune of nearly 13,000 in back Child Support payments. The prosecution also argued that the forensic evidence pointed squarely at jarod ingram. Police found jarods fingerprint on ciaras cell phone, a cell phone last used about the same time jarods cell phone placed him at her apartment. So did he have enough time to do this . Yes, he certainly had enough time. We know that his phone was at the apartment at the time that her phone went silent. Theres enough time to have killed her, he knew where the bleach was, he could get to the bleach, do the cleanup that he attempted to do and were not talking about extensive cleanup here, right . No, we are not. A little bleach were talking about here, a little bleach there. Right . Throwing bleach a few places in the apartment. Trying to clean her up a little bit. Then he was able to get to the next place where we found him with the phone record evidence. Jarod ingram steadfastly maintained to anyone who would listen that he had not killed ciara. But the prosecution found someone who said jarod told him a different story. He would tell me about how he killed his exwife. He told me all how he did it and all that. A confession. Jockas gilchrist testified that jarod confided in him when they shared a cell at the county jail. He detailed jarods words in this police recording. And he said he just snapped and he said he had stabbed her in the neck or Something Like that. This witness was able to give details, including the fact that he had turned down the air conditioning. There was no way that this particular person, who was in jail at the time of the murder, no way he would have known any of this information, unless he received it from someone who knew it. And jarod had access to this person and he says that ja jaro told him those things. But the star witnesses for the prosecution were jarods own children. You hadnt seen them in years at this point. Thats correct. They even look the same to you . No. If you saw them at the mall, would you say, those are my kids . I had people scouring the internet, moderators on ciaras memorial page were very good keeping anyone related to me blocked from social media. But every now and then something would slip through. Hand here aand here are the court. Are you making any eye contact with them, are you trying to send them any messages . Im looking at them. Theyre not making any eye contact with me. I did mouth, i love you, and that was about all that i thought i could get away with. The children, then 12 and 13 years old, told the jury with cleareyed detail what happened that last day they saw their mother alive. And the details were more damning than ever. As when jarods daughter testified about peeking through that mail slot. What does the little girl see . She sees her father standing. He is he is changing his shirt and he has a white bottle beside him on the floor that she doesnt know she doesnt know what it is. But a white bottle beside him. A white bottle. Bleach. A change of clothes. Those sounded like new elements. Were those children coached to give details of their story . Never. Was it different years later than it had been at the beginning . There were more details years later, and there were some things that were clarified. But no, the the children were never coached. They were forensically interviewed intentionally so that they would not have ideas put in their heads. And they were never coached with what to say on the stand. Are you persuaded that little girl saw her father changing his clothing and doing the cleanup . Absolutely. And that the little boy heard screams . Absolutely. Heard his mothers dying declaration, as it were. Yes. So sad that it that they had to see and hear that, but yes, thats what they saw and heard. But there was another version of what happened that day. And the jury was about to weigh the credibility of that storyteller. Coming up you took the stand. There was no question. Why . Why did you take the stand . Id been waiting six years to be able to stand up in front of a jury and stand up in front of a judge and say, i didnt do this. Who would the jury believe . The children or their father . What if this jury says youre guilty . What if . When what they saw continues. Shingles doesnt care. I logged 10,000 steps today. Shingles doesnt care. I get as much fresh air as possible. Good for you, but shingles doesnt care. Because 1 in 3 people will get shingles, you need protection. But no matter how healthy you feel, your immune system declines as you age, increasing your risk for getting shingles. So what can protect you . Shingrix protects. For the first time ever, you can protect yourself from shingles with a vaccine proven to be over 90 effective. Shingrix is a vaccine used to prevent shingles in adults 50 years and older. Shingrix does not protect everyone and is not for those with severe allergic reactions to its ingredients or to a previous dose. The most common side effects are pain, redness, and swelling at the injection site, muscle pain, tiredness, headache, shivering, fever, and upset stomach. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about protecting yourself with shingrix. Shingles doesnt care. Shingrix protects. I wasnt sure. Was another around the corner . Or could things go a different way . I wanted to help protect myself. My doctor recommended eliquis. Eliquis is proven to treat and help prevent another dvt or pe blood clot. Almost 98 percent of patients on eliquis didnt experience another. And eliquis has significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. Eliquis is fdaapproved and has both. Dont stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. Eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. Dont take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. If you had a spinal injection while on eliquis call your doctor right away if you have tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness. While taking eliquis, you may bruise more easily and it may take longer than usual for bleeding to stop. Seek immediate medical care for sudden signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. Eliquis may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. Tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. Whats around the corner could be worth waiting for. Ask your doctor about eliquis. Whats around the corner could be worth waiting for. [whats this . ] oh, are we kicking karly out . We live with at t. It was a lapse in judgment. At t, we called this house meeting because you advertise gigspeed internet, but we cant sign up for that here. Yeah, but im just like warming up to those speeds. Youve lived here two years. The personal attacks arent helping, karly. Dont you have like a hot pilates class to get to or something . [ muffled scream ] stop living with at t. Xfinity can deliver gig to the most homes. 12 jurors sitting in judgment of jarod ingram. So, back to where we began. Did you take a butcher knife and plunge it into ciaras neck and kill her no. Absolutely not while the kids were waiting outside . Absolutely not. Pour bleach on her . No. That did not happen . No. And thats been the story for your life for the last, what, how many years now, huh . Six years. It had been six years since the crime. Six years of suspicion. But jarods attorney, mike reynolds, says it had taken investigators mere hours to come to a conclusion. You get domestic cases, you get a lot of them, and its almost an automatic that you go to the deceaseds former spouse or current spouse. And thats my man, were going to make it fit. And, the defense argued, there wasnt a shred of physical evidence linking jarod to the actual murder. No dna. No prints on the possible murder weapon. Nothing. In that bloody scene at ciaras apartment, all the prosecution pointed to was jarods fingerprint on her cell phone. He was over at that townhouse quite a bit. It would not have been uncommon for his fingerprints to be all over this place. Jarod says, sure, he used ciaras phone that day. I just remember my daughter handing me the phone saying that it was her older brother in indiana and that he wanted to talk to me. And they werent worried at all about that jailhouse snitch. He was totally not credible, as most snitches are not. Because if you talk with any jurors, they dont they dont believe them. I mean, you dont call somebody and talk about another crime unless you expect to get something out of it. But what about the kids and their everimportant stories . The defense questioned the new details. Dad changing his shirt. The white bottle of what could have been bleach. Youre saying that the the cops in this case are seeding the story . Theyre coaching the kids . I absolutely think that they were asking leading questions that were leading them to conclusions that they didnt originally have. And even my daughter on the stand, she said that she believes that what she saw and heard at the time, she just didnt understand what it was when she was younger. Jarods attorney was confident the jurors would understand the facts if they heard from jarod directly. I knew that he was going to make a good witness. One of the things we have to make a determination of as Defense Attorneys is, are you going to put your client on the stand . And we knew immediately that we had to put him on the stand, for various reasons, but most particularly because he was wellspoken. You took the stand, always risky. Rarely advised. Buff you did it. There was no question. Why . Why did you take the stand . Id been waiting six years to be able to stand up in front of a jury and stand up in front of a judge and say, i didnt do this. But it exposes you to aggressive crossexamination by the prosecutor. It does and that was rough. It seemed like he was doing everything in his power to kind of get a rise out of me. Provoke you so the jury could exactly. Show the jury the monster. Jarod faced the prosecutors questions for more than a dozen hours over three days. So, this is a poor set of facts that have come together against you. Youre the last known adult to have seen her. The kids are saying theyve heard screaming in the house. The father acting very suspiciously. Bleach. Its everything seems to be consistent with you going in and killing ciara and doing a rough cleanup and then coming out. Absolutely not. If i had done a quick rough cleanup, there would have been something on me, there would have been something in the car. The police had the car in their custody. They combed it inch to inch. The they found no blood. They found no bleach. That that thats impossible. Jarod denied hed ever been violent with ciara. The defense pointing out theres never been so much as a single report to the police. And, no, Child Support wasnt a problem. He said they were working on it, and he hadnt been upset about the exs move to indiana either. His new wife katie watched from the gallery. Jarod is calm, cool, very intelligent. Hes our evidence. The jury went out to deliberate. Two days passed without a verdict. Then, in an odd quirk of the court calendar, everyone took a week off. No decision. What if this jury says youre guilty . You know, i we couldnt stop hugging. I mean, we were pretty much always like that. But theres i guess a little more emotion behind it, because of what if. Jarod was charged with the commission of four felonies, including murder. What were you hoping for in the court . That he would be found guilty of what he did. It took less than two hours once the jury went back at it. Youre watching the faces as they file in . I am. Very intently. And nobodys giving anything away. Theyre just coming in one by one, just stonefaced and they gave the verdict sheet to the judge and the judge read it and he called the lawyers up and the lawyers came up and they read it. And then what, you hear the words . They start reading off the counts, one at a time, and its just not guilty. Not guilty. Not guilty. Jarod ingram, not guilty of the murder of ciara ingram. I grabbed my attorney and hugged him and i cant even describe the moment. I just collapsed back down in the chair. Thanked god, went back, started hugging my family. It was great. I started crying. Ive never in my life cried in happiness, never, and in that moment, i cried in happiness. For ciaras friends and family, the reaction was much different. I was surprised. And i think that my surprise came mostly from the childrens testimony. I dont believe for a minute that anyone coached them into saying any of that. They told the jury what they saw and what they heard . Yeah. I absolutely believe that. And if you believe it, that means that hes guilty. Right. You think jarod murdered ciara . I do. Does she need justice . She does. I dont know how theyre going to get it. But the Prosecutor Says not guilty is not the same as innocent. I do think that he is the murderer, and we would not have tried him if we didnt have confidence in that. Jarod and katie are grateful to the circle of friends who they say helped acquit him. Theyre now fighting for custody of his children whove been with ciaras mother for more than six years. The frustration of still not being in contact with my children has been hard. Is it better at this point, given all the poison that you say has been put before them, poisoning their minds towards you, is it better just to let them be raised by their grandmother and maybe later on in life, when theyre bigger, you can catch up with them . Absolutely not. But they they you killed their mother. I dont know if they think that or not. I think theyve just trained to hate and fear me. It would be better for them to heal this relationship as soon as possible. The children. What they saw. What they heard. What they remembered. Ciaras friends say whats more important now is what they know about the woman lost on that day. If her kids start to forget her, the memory dims, what would you sit down and tell them about their mother . Mainly how much she loved them. She did. Those kids were everything to her, and, you know, she they they were her world. Im craig melvin. And im natalie morales. And this is dateline. Thats what he was trying to do, was protect his family. Thats all he ever wanted to do. Even when the man was dying,wa thats what he was doing. A quiet family night at homeh shattered by intruders. The gun was like right here. A devoted father and husband dead. She just kept saying they killed him. Someone murdered her husband but left her alive, and that left police suspicious. Was it possible she was involved in her husbands murder . The indicators are in cases