He Couldnt Help Thinking News Today

Dress and be a widow the rest of your life. >> yeah. >> reporter: detective elgis of course was keeping track and trying not to be judgmental. >> she has to do what she needs to do to heal. it doesnt mean i wasnt paying attention to what was going on. >> but as months passed and elgis scratched away at the few paltry leads that went anywhere at all, a certain clarity began to emerge. despite his own early suspicions and those of others, hard evidence against melissa just didnt materialize. in fa...

>> reporter: melissa oxley was just 27 years old and already a widow. her 36-year-old husband, ben, shot dead while he slept in bed right next to her. as far as she could tell, said melissa, the shooter managed to break into the house, walk right into the master bedroom, shoot ben without harming her and leave not a trace of evidence behind. case blowingled detective ron elgus mind. >> is this say murder for hire pay? what could this be? >> reporter: melissas closest friend believed her when she...

He didnt deserve to die. >> for the time being, its a he said/she said story. the d.a.s deal with dawn to the dismay of james mat vi ans attorney means she may never face a murder charge >> prosecutor made a deal with the devil. now we need to show how far she is. >> deal with the devil? the d.a. said, without dawns testimony at the preliminary hearing, the murder charge against james would never have stuck. but dawn wasnt totally off the hook because there was one possibility still. if the d.a....

>> reporter: detective elgus was keeping track and trying not to be judgmental. >> she has to do what she needs to do to heal. it doesnt mean i wasnt paying attention to what was going on. >> reporter: but as months passed. he push aside the leaves, a certain clarity began to emerge. despite his own early suspicions and those of others, hard evidence against melissa just didnt materialize. n fact, he couldnt help thinking -- >> she probably didnt do it. she was so startled she went into a fight ...

And deception, and cat and mouse. who knew what it was? but the story when it began back in 2005 was about love. or what certainly felt like it. in fact, fair to say it was two kinds of love. there was what happened to ben when he met melissa. >> as soon as he met melissa, he was something i never seen. just, you know, just for no reason, he would call and say i love you. >> reporter: hes a changed man? >> absolutely. he was happy. melissa really made the difference. >> reporter: and if anybody ...

Remember, the police went to see dawn a couple hours after ben was killed, found her fast asleep. >> what time did you think you went to sleep? >> oh, gosh, i watched a movie "the departed" and -- i dont know, about 4:00. >> in fact, she happened to be sharing her bedroom with a 21-year-old family friend named james matlean. >> we watched a movie and went to bed. >> yeah, thats our story. thats it. >> reporter: not exactly a convincing alibi. any more than the obvious fiction that james, a new m...

A widow the rest of your life? >> yeah. >> the detective was keeping track and trying not to be judgmental. >> sheer has to do what she needs to do to heal. it doesnt mean i was not paying attention. >> months pass and he scratched away at the leads that went anywhere at all. a clarity began to emerge. despite earliy is spriy y isupp. hard evidence didnt materialize. >> he couldnt help thinking -- >> she was so start led and wen into a fight or flight response and discovered he had been shot. >>...

>> put on a black dress and be a widow the rest of your life? >> yeah. >> reporter: detective elgas, of course, was keeping track and trying not to be judgmental. >> she has to do what she needs to do to heal. it doesnt mean i wasnt paying attention to what was going on. >> reporter: months passed and he pushed aside the leaves, a certain clarity began to emerge. despite his own early suspicions and those of others, hard evidence against melissa just didnt materialize. in fact, he couldnt help t...

Widow the rest of your life? >> yeah. >> reporter: detective elgas, of course, was keeping track and trying not to be judgmental. >> she has to do what she needs to do to heal. it doesnt mean i wasnt paying attention to what was going on. >> reporter: months passed and he scratched away at the few paltry leads, a certain clarity began to emerge. despite his own early suspicions and those of others, hard evidence against melissa just didnt materialize. in fact, he couldnt help thinking -- >> she ...