Page 531 - Abseiling News Today

With her dog gracie, a border collie pup. >> i think she was only 6 months old. >> she rambunctious? she -- >> she was rambunctious, for sure. shes the type of dog that when the ceiling fan would be going, she would try to jump up, and like, follow it around. >> fred and leslie parked at the base of the trail. snow still covered the ground in patches. they hiked up, past a small series of waterfalls. up until they found the perfect spot for pictures. they had arrived at cottonwood creek. fred st...

Are catastrophic. >> i dont see how you could rule out a fall from any of the circumstances or injuries that ive seen. >> reporter: and then it was time to counter all those prosecution water tests, the backbone of the states case. the defense saw major problems with those tests and called its own water expert -- a hydrologist whod been measuring current flows for 40 years. >> increase of stream flow and as a general rule, increase comes in late afternoon and evening. >> reporter: the defense ex...

Clear explanation of how he did it. >> there was no evidence to put him down at the recovery site. there were no footprints in the snow and there were no defensive wounds on her. if there was a scuffle, i would think she would have -- >> she would have fought back. >> -- some bruises. she would have fought back. >> reporter: they poured over technical testimony about water and the creek. to them that flood of data and expert testimony was a complete wash. >> you can bring all the experts in and ...

A physical fight. >> we think that at that point, i think anyway, that she was able to break free of his grasp at that point. and she ran back this way and down, paralleling this path that goes down, eventually meets up with this stream. >> you think he chased after her? >> i think he paralleled her down that road till he got to the point where he could easily intercept her as shes going down by the stream. >> if your theory is right, that is almost like she was being hunted. >> its almost like ...

>> the evidence at the scene makes you think something entirely different happened. >> she fell 20 feet. where were the injuries? why did i not see what i expect to see? >> a search for the truth in the woods and water. >> if your theory is right, thats almost like she was being hunted. >> its almost lucky a hare and a wolf. >> two different stories about the mom they all adored, one seeming an unsolvable mystery. >> either you believe crazy story a or crazy story b. both stories are crazy. whic...

5th 09 were less than the stream flows on may 3rd and may 4th 08. >> reporter: all that so-called "evidence" that proved freds story was impossible? the defense said it was useless. >> the testing that you do in 2009 is not necessarily going to be reflective of what did or did not happen in 2008. the bottoms of the creek changes, the walls of the creek can change, theres erosion up creek, and you can see it the more times you go up there. you can see, every time it seemed a little bit different....

>> they kept working and testing and poking around, not sure if it would ever amount to anything. as the years moved on, investigators were continuing to build a case against fred, though his children were unaware their father was under such intense suspicion. they were trying hard to remember the happy moments with their mother and put the colorado tragedy behind them. what became of the cabin that held so many memories for all of you? >> i think after the accident, it wasnt going to be a happy...

Thats their case. they wont give you the why of that theory. they wont give you the how. >> reporter: the defense again criticized the prosecutions re-creations and told this jury there was no way anyone could know for sure what the water flow and depth were on the day leslie died. >> if someone measured the actual stream flow of cottonwood creek within days or a week of the incident it wouldve been informative. >> reporter: and several new defense witnesses took the stand. there was a biomechan...

Book. >> time is 11:23. i am turning off the recording. >> investigators had their theories, but did they have a case? fred went home to texas where his family thought would be the end of it. >> his entire philosophy through all of this was, it was an accident. im telling the truth. >> and he wanted to cooperate. he wanted to help them see that. >> but investigators hadnt seen that. not at all. and if fred couldnt answer their questions, theyd head back to cottonwood creek and hope that the wate...

But in january, the terrain was virtually impassible with snow and ice, so it was up to the prosecutors to set the scene and show why they thought freds story defied common sense and science. >> injuries are going to tell you a story that leslie mueller was drowned by her husband. >> reporter: prosecutors called michael golob, the first trained rescuer on the scene. >> im asking him what happened, tell me how, what happened. and he relates that she apparently had fallen off a waterfall. >> repor...