Firsty Ralph News Today

And what did he write in his letter? "i went out the back, and the rear door glass was broken. some pieces fell out when i opened the door." ralph even had answers to questions he wasnt asked, like why was the fireplace poker exactly where it belonged by the fireplace? >> normally if you used a weapon, youre going to find it somewhere around where your victim is. >> uh-huh. >> and it looked like the poker had been put back in its original place. >> reporter: heres what ralph wrote. "i picked up ...

>> reporter: ralph kept explaining. kept offering not less but more details. about, for example, the drawer pulls in his house, the ones investigators removed to test for fingerprints. >> in the event that one of the invasion persons touched them. >> reporter: now heres ralph with the police at his house just after pam was murdered. noticing the missing knobs. >> what happened to all the knobs? >> he was very upset that they were missing. >> well, i really dont understand why the knobs are gone....

Again.er it was, said the prosecutors, one of the more disturbing motives for murder theyd ever heard.alph so his religious beliefs were more important than somebody elses life?so >> ralph candelarios life was more important than anyone elses life.th >> reporter: so the jury got the case.-- and they worked till the end of the day and then through a w second and then a third. tick tock.th >> whether they convict him or r they dont is going to be a they dont is going to be a different set of emoti...

>> oh, its been a horrible day. >> reporter: best he could remember, said ralph, he got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, then decided to go downstairs to make sure the wood burning stove was still lit. but on his way to the bottom of the steps, he said, somebody hit him from behind. and then again from the side. >> i put my arm up, and boom. i mean, it just hit me like a ton of bricks. it hit me hard, you know, and so i went backwards. the ringing. i couldnt see no more. >> rep...

And i know that i need to cope with whatever answer comes. >> your opening.ut >> yes, your honor. >> then here it was, february 25th, 2016. victory, had tied prosecutor ndl ryan brackleys hands, in one way, anyway.er >> well, we tried to tell the entire story about ralph candelario and ralph as >> in other words, the very suspicious disappearance of dena, the first wife, whose bodt has never been found. but --ec >> ultimately, the judge deniedt that motion, and we went to trial without that piec...

I want to know what happened. can you tell me anything? >> yeah, the only thing you know that i know is that a lot of stuff was stolen from the house. >> okay. >> reporter: ralph stuck to his story. a deadly home invasion. >> and then i found her. >> yeah. >> and thats you know -- >> yes. >> and i try to deal with that. >> reporter: shannon pressed ralph for details. >> the one guy that hit me that i saw from the front was taller than me. >> okay. >> and he had a dark complexion. you know, he ha...

Burglaries arent uncommon in walsenburg especially with all the drugs around.d. >> reporter: then, said the defense, one of the bad guys sar pam and --nd >> he hits pam in the head hardv hes standing there in the kitchen, fire poker in his hand, wondering what to do. wondering what to do. >> reporter: the robbers must have thought pam and ralph had already left on vacation.h >> this family was supposed to be gone. that was the talk around town. >> reporter: so, for the jury it came down to whose...

>> her head and her -- theres just blood over her and theres blood on the floor. i touched her cheek. and she was cold, cold, cold. and i ran out of the house. >> reporter: and that, said ralph, is when he saw his neighbor fahry and yelled for help. but who did it? robbers or someone else? normally, said walsenburg police captain vince suarez -- >> youre always going to look at the closest people to the victim. >> reporter: except, in this case, ralph was also a victim and clearly wanted to help...

And where. >> and he grabbed me with the other hand on my hip right here and he proceeded to assault me. >> reporter: so that was the whole awful story. but if ralph thought that sharing his new, more detailed recollections would clear the air, he was wrong. what did you think when you saw it? >> i was pretty blown away by what was written. coming up -- back at home with detectives, ralph gets his own surprise. >> what happened to all the knobs? >> he was very upset that they were missing. >> ...

Protecting her mother, read the letter and began to have thoughts that were much more disturbing. >> i didnt get through more than page and a half and i threw it. and i was like, this is [ bleep ]. this is the worst. i could barely stomach to finish it. >> reporter: and aaron? shannons ex-husband? ralphs son? aaron went to a very dark place indeed. oh, you have no idea. you were 11 years old when your mother disappeared. >> yes. coming up -- secrets in the basement. >> i had been going through...