Page 75 - Christopher Wright News Today

Police had so readily dismissed novak as a suspect. dismissed him and a few other puzzling discoveries, like the one about kens widow dee. remember, she was in prison at the time of his murder. when she first talked to police, she told them she had no idea her husband had a meeting the morning of his murder. no clue who he was meeting with. turns out, she was not telling the truth. >> hello? >> you have a call from an inmate. >> hello? >> hi, honey. >> reporter: its standard procedure for prison...

Looked out of place like a wig. before the shooting, said lee, he heard the mans voice, sounded eastern european, maybe slavic. police believe both men came here in the victims car, which the shooter then used to flee the scene. as for the victim, you heard the name by now -- ken dolezsar, the extremely wealthy local investor. >> my daughter called me just bawling. she told me kens been shot, and hes dead. wow. >> reporter: matt beaudry considered ken dolezsar to be one of his closest friends. t...

>> reporter: no test fired shell casing, she said. >> i dont mean to sound cynical, but i know it wasnt there. >> reporter: only possible conclusion, said bianca, it was her accusation, the sandy police must have planted the shell casing in order to link chris missing gun to the crime scene. you think it would be hard for people to accept the idea that this detective would do something as unethical as plant evidence. >> it was not there. i know that. >> reporter: the sandy police department cate...

Is pointing the finger at me who got $2 million. >> reporter: this is too cloak and dagger for a jury. >> i understand how difficult it is to believe, but the alternative is that i just simply got up one day and decided to go shoot some poor person in a disguise. >> reporter: chris wanted to talk about that voice mail, the one that helped lure ken to his death, the voice mail detective carriger was sure was left by chris, though no voice analyst ever studied it. >> people who are going to watch ...

Out like a cinematic thriller. he ran an insurance scam. then as it caught up with him, he attempted to escape by faking his own death. ditched his airplane in puget sound. >> he faked his death in order to avoid insurance audit. that was not a crime of passion. that was a crime of calculation. >> reporter: or so the loft friends believed. and if that was true, what might he have done here in salt lake? their suspicion only grew when the friends found out novak left town without mentioning it wa...

>> almost as if they was trying to account for things we knew. >> reporter: i see. odd. then as the interview went on, he said, chris voice began to sound familiar. the voice mail that police believed help lure ken to his death. >> hey, ken, this is robert. >> reporter: to me, that was chris voice on that phone. >> reporter: the detectives pulled out a search warrant. bianca was home when the police arrived. >> its surreal. theyre like roving gangs of toddlers who are ripping everything apart. t...

Loft residents dave and lisa mccammon were having dinner with their best friends the novaks. >> he announced were moving. and we were astounded. i remember saying to him, what? youve put all this money into your loft, youve got all this investment here. why are you leaving? he said its just time to go. >> reporter: he planned to be their great friend, socialable, gregarious, larger than life. then said neighbors once chris was arrest head seemed nervous. and now he was gone. and so they wondered...

Friends, at least matt beaudry, the verdict was vindication. >> he looks like a smug killer. and a jury of his peers listened to all the evidence and with that weighty choice decided that he was. im satisfied with that. >> reporter: chris wright is sentenced to 15 years to life. hes filed an appeal requesting a new trial. and david novak has not been charged with or accused by the police of anything, though whether or not authorities want to talk to him is less clear. you know where he is? >> i ...

>> reporter: tax fraud. kens wealthy wife dee was david novaks client. thats why ken dolezsar knew ken novak. and something made kens relatives suspicious. so detectives drove over to the loft where they spoke with mr. novak. >> he was soft spoken. >> reporter: and a bright man. >> he came across as very intelligent, yes. >> reporter: answered all the questions but didnt seem to be of much help. then as detective carriger was preparing to leave, he tried one more question. that prepaid cell phon...

>> wait for him as long as you have to? >> yep. no problem. >> reporter: and out in suburban sandy, utah, the case still resonates around the shiny, new courthouse, where a.d.a. josh player struggled with his emotions a bit, as he says he is sure he did not send an innocent man to prison, but rather, achieved justice for everyone. >> i was glad for the family of the victim. >> reporter: you take this stuff to heart, dont you? >> i do. i do. >> reporter: and while they stand on opposite sides of ...