Page 3 - Attacking Paul News Today

At one point she actually threatened to commit suicide inside my own house. >> reporter: this was no surprise to ilona and her mom, who loved catherine but never approved of michelle. >> what are your first impressions of michelle? >> i didnt like her. >> why? >> she walked into my mothers house and she immediately wanted catherines pictures turned around because she felt like catherine was looking at her. >> reporter: paul said it took him a bit longer than his family to realize he and michelle...

The remains of that old country house were still smoldering as investigators dug through the debris looking for clues. they wanted to know what caused the fire and exactly how catherine novak died there. her mothers question was more simple. >> the big thing for me was why didnt she get out? that was what kept going over in my mind. why didnt she get out? >> reporter: even her estranged husband paul said he was puzzled. >> i didnt know what to think about it. id been surrounded by death and viol...

Pathologist, to do a second autopsy a few days later. and the results this time told a different story. >> we knew she did not die in that fire. she died before the fire. >> reporter: the second pathologist discovered there was no carbon monoxide in catherines blood or soot in her lungs, which meant catherine had stopped breathing before the fire started. she changed the manner of death from accidental to pending investigation. >> the question is what else can we gain or learn before we can star...

>> reporter: through her tears michelle spilled out gruesome details of what paul said were catherines final words. she begged him to think of their children. >> and he told me that the only thing he said to her the entire time that he was fighting with her was, "im doing this for the kids." and he said that she had been wearing a hooded sweatshirt and that he finally just took the sweatshirt and wrapped it around her neck and held it until she stopped breathing. >> reporter: then michelle claim...

Remarkably similar it was to michelle la frances. >> did he say where he strangled her? where in the house. >> in the basement. >> reporter: prosecutors felt these matching stories were powerful but didnt think they would be enough to get a conviction. they wanted physical evidence to prove michelle and scott were telling the truth. they began with sherwoods account of the drive up to narrowsburg. sherwood had told investigators paul asked him to stop at a walmart. >> when you get into the middl...

From me. and then i remember him. hes the guy that grilled me, the one that got in my face. >> how are you feeling? oh, my gosh. these people are back in my life, four years later. >> at that point i still didnt know what they wanted from me. i knew this guy was yelling at me and then i just looked at him and i said, "i would like to speak to a lawyer." >> reporter: paul had already been interviewed by police several times. he thought this was all behind him. >> you knew it had to be about cathe...

And when the flames subsided, one of them would be dead leaving investigators wondering if the blaze was a tragic accident or something more sinister. heres andrea canning with "secrets & lies." >> reporter: on a frigid december morning in 2008, in a tiny picturesque town along the banks of the delaware, a tragedy unfolded. >> 911. what is your emergency? >> the whole house is on fire. >> reporter: a deadly blaze burned a small country house to the ground, and left behind in the ashes were secre...

Perspective, she would look for the positive side, the good things, and she would want us to move on. and you know, thats what we tried to do. we made our peace with it, and we went on living. >> reporter: but as time went by in the little town of narrowsburg, dark suspicions were whispered from neighbor to neighbor, and one name kept coming up. catherines estranged husband, paul novak. her close friend, sue muller. >> i was angry as time went on, and i thought more and more about it and i thoug...

But construction at the toll booth forced him to drive through the ez pass lane. >> he made some mistakes. and he couldnt have anticipated the bridge was going to be under construction with no toll takers. >> reporter: and then prosecutors presented what they thought would remove any smudge of doubt from their case. a third person who linked paul to the murder. elyse hanlon, scott sherwoods wife. on the stand she recalled a conversation with paul where he told her that he committed the murder an...

Theres no winners. >> reporter: almost five years after catherine novaks murder, so many secrets, lies, and betrayals had been revealed. so many questions raised. would the jury believe pauls ex-lover and his ex-partner? was paul a ruthless killer, or had he been set up? it took the jury two full days of deliberations. on the third day they had made a decision. the verdict was in. >> we find in the case of the people of the state of new york versus paul novak as to count 1, murder in the first d...