Page 32 - Fred Mueller News Today

Move on." >> i just wanted to, first, fred thank you for coming. >> youre welcome. >> reporter: again, he shared his recollections about that day at the vacation home. >> it was a beautiful day and it went to hell. there are so many things i wish i had done differently. >> reporter: and again described what happened to leslie after she posed for that last photo. >> she was flailing in the air, screaming. and i was screaming and she hit. and never made another peep. >> reporter: if freds account ...

Leslie died, sheriff bruce stopped by the muellers cabin to get a more precise account of what happened during their hike. bruces undersheriff and a state investigator talked to fred. >> you know, i shouldnt have even taken her up there. its all my fault. >> reporter: the conversation at the muellers kitchen table was recorded. >> we started taking photos. she took a few of me. i took some of her. >> reporter: fred described in detail how that kodak moment went wrong. >> i suggested that she tak...

Fred had to be lying. >> what you see here, andrea, this is -- >> reporter: we went back to cottonwood creek with the sheriff in may, 2014, the same month leslie died. >> we got a late snowstorm this year. >> reporter: a spring storm had just blanketed the woods and rocks. i have to say, im honestly nervous just standing here. >> its -- >> reporter: this is very steep. >> thats a sheer drop-off. >> reporter: it was up here where they had posed for pictures, that sheriff bruce showed me what he t...

>> reporter: the judge considered a visit to cottonwood creek but ruled it was too expensive and impractical to bring the jury that far. >> not being able to do that, we did our best in the second trial to bring the scene to the jury. >> reporter: this second jury had a new 3d model of cottonwood creek to examine and fresh testimony to consider. that apparent small skull fracture of leslies that the defense highlighted in the first trial? no way, said the states new witness, who was an expert in...

Plausible and the prosecutions was not. >> why would he do this? why would a guy who was married for 27 years with no history of violence, no history of any sort of domestic disputes all of a sudden decide on his vacation he was going to murder his wife with his bare hands? it just seems -- that part of the case seems so far-fetched. >> friend after friend arrived from texas to support fred. even his in-laws took the stand. leslies own mother jenny vouched for her former son-in-laws character. >...

Story of her fall as a cover. >> two people went up, one came back and weve only got his story. and we know that story is false through and through. >> the defendant has asked people to believe what is impossible -- impossible. >> but freds lawyers were about to turn the states case on its head. those tests at cottonwood creek, in fact any so-called evidence of murder just didnt hold water at all. coming up, defense experts tell the jury that the way leslie died is absolutely clear. >> what is m...

>> mom and dad would walk to the pond and maybe be out there 30 minutes to an hour while the sun would be setting. >> amanda recalled how devastated her father was in the wake of her mothers death. >> i know he wasnt sleeping well. he would stay in bed a lot during the day. he cried all the time. >> and alexs testimony brought out an emotional response from fred in court. >> did you ever see your dad able to get over it? >> no. im looking at him right now and hes not over it. >> but what about f...

For three cold colorado weeks as prosecutors laid out their case for murder, fred muellers defense attorney, roger, sat by his side. how was fred feeling throughout the trial? >> he was nervous. his life was on the line. it was stressful. >> freds children found it especially hard. >> it was the worst experience you could imagine, the worst day of your life. imagine that being analyzed by a handful of people and drug out publicly and scrutinized. your personal, private tragedy being exposed to t...

What a spot to preserve a memory. >> careful, though. this is wilderness -- the dangerous kind. >> shes in the river. she fell and they cant find her. he thinks shes dead. >> reporter: the frigid currents here can take a life, and also, maybe, sweep away secrets. >> it was the perfect place to commit a murder where nobody would see you. >> if you go into it looking for trouble, youre going to find it. >> reporter: and up in those mountains, sometimes questions are left behind.in >> i dont have a...

Mcdonalds ceo, fired for an inappropriate relationship with an employee. now, back to "dateline." fred mueller spent the day after his wifes death talking with investigators about the accident on cottonwood creek. the next day he and his son alex flew home to texas, ferried by a friend in a private plane. >> you never think you would -- it could happen to you. >> reporter: there, fred and alex were reunited with amanda and ariel, alexs older sisters. >> you hear horrible stories and you feel f...