Page 5 - Inside Scharf News Today

Obvious. what was a hammer doing in that picnic bag? >> well, he told us he fixed a drawer in his kitchen with a hammer. he put it in the bag with his picnic items. it was a convenient excuse for having that hammer. >> detectives asked if they could check out the drawer and the rest of stevens house that night. he agreed. but as it turned something potentially far more telling was happening away from the action. >> and i said, look, mr. scharf, im your local police department. >> he was a local ...

Been cheating on her. >> she couldnt prove anything, but women called the house. and sometimes theyd call and hang up on her. >> in fact, linem learned jody had served her husband divorce papers on september 8, 1992. less than two weeks later she was dead at the base of the palisades. the timing made him even more eager to talk to the widower scharf. theres a sit down with scharf. hes consented to talk, right? >> yes. >> two days of his wifes death, stephen scharf was freely answering detectives...

The top of the cliff and 30 feet to the north. >> she had to have been propelled from that point. >> jody had to have been thrown or pushed to her death, he said, and likely from another spot entirely on those cliffs. he wasnt the only expert who saw it that way. >> the head and chest injuries are not consistent with someone that tumbles down the cliff base. >> dr. maryan clay was the bergen county medical examiner who first ruled the circumstances could not be determined. now on second look, sh...

So they came to this romantic, if treacherous spot, to recommit to each other steven said. to kiss and make up. >> the spot where they went, not a spot where you go to reconcile with anybody. >> detectives werent buying the story for another reason. they had found something suspicious inside scharfs car. a bag filled with items you would expect for a romantic picnic and one you would not. a hammer. >> wine, cheese, crackers, opener, claw hammer. i mean, red flags are going off. they reach the to...

From the kitchen with that hammer. he forgot to put it in the garage. he put it in the basket with the picnic items. it was convenient. >> they asked if they could check out the drawer and the rest of stevens house that night. he agreed. as it turned out, something potentially far more telling was happening away from the action. >> i said, look, mr. scharf, im your local police department. >> he was a local officer told to keep an eye on mr. scharf as they looked through his house. he started ta...

Judged steven scharfs supposedly odd demeanor for themselves. >> why didnt you? >> not an interrogation. he wasnt in custody. i dont know. >> the defense attorney also argued that police misinterpreted what his client said in his home just hours later. >> my client never said this wasnt an accident. >> as for that hammer police thought was a weapon shall the hammer was examined by the forensic experts. there was nothing found on that hammer. >> and the defense attorney pressed the medical examin...