James Matlean News Today

and then your being looked at for it. >> imagine, your shaken in the dead of night. >> my ears were ringing. i thought i was dreaming. >> in bed, right next to you. your husband, murdered. >> hearty wrap around your head, is it? >> yes. >> and heres the twist. you are the suspect. >> its the worst feeling, thinking youre gonna be blamed for your husbands death. >> could she have been the killer? or, with someone keeping a secret? >> he said, what did you do. what did you do? >> i dont ...

love is dead. and then your being looked at for it. >> imagine, your shaken in the dead of night. >> my ears were ringing. i thought i was dreaming. >> in bed, right next to you. your husband, murdered. >> hearty wrap around your head, is it? >> yes. >> and heres the twist. you are the suspect. >> its the worst feeling, thinking youre gonna be blamed for your husbands death. >> could she have been the killer? or, with someone keeping a secret? >> i said, what did you do. what did you d...

Or was someone keeping a secret . I said what do you do, what did you do . I dont know. Just the truth. Hello and welcome to dateline. Its the stuff of nightmares. An intruder creeps into your bedroom in the middle of the night and opens fire. For Melissa Oxley, the bad dream was all too real. She told investigators she had been startled from her sleep to find her husband ben dead from a shotgun blast. It seems strange they thought that no one else in the house was hurt, including melissa, who w...

Horrible, knowing the person that you love is dead and that youre being look at for it. Imagine youre shaken in the dead of night. My ears were ringing. I thought i was dreaming. In bed right next to you, your husband murdered. Hard to get that one out of your head, isnt it . Yeah. And heres the twist youre the suspect. Worst feeling to hear youre being blamed for your husbands death. Could she have been the killer . Or was someone keeping a secret . I said, what do you do . What did you do . I ...

Death. Could she have been the killer . Or was someone keeping a secret . I said what do you do, what did you do . I dont know. Just the truth. Hello and welcome to dateline, the stuff of nightmares, intruder comes into bedroom in middle of the night and opens fire. For patricia oxley, the bad dream was all too real. She told prosecutors she had been awakened from her sleep to find her husband ben dead from a gunshot blast. Strange that nobody else was injured even patricia, sleeping by his side...

Could she have been the killer or was someone keeping a secret . I said what did you do . What did you do . S i dont know what to tell you. Just the truth. Hello. And welcome to dateline. Its the stuff of nightmares. An intruder creeps into your bedroom in the middle of the night and opens fire. But for Melissa Oxley the bad dream was all too real. She told investigators shed been startled from her sleep to find her husband, bing, dead from abi gunshot blast. It seems g strange, they though that...

>> i pulled the trigger. >> reporter: but james matlean did not shrink from it. he murdered ben oxley in his sleep and must live with what he did for the rest of his days. >> im afraid to deal with what i actually did. >> reporter: he told his story in court last december. it was after the d.a. took the death penalty off the table and james decided to plead guilty. and thats when melissa sitting in the courtroom heard for the first time about something else. james was supposed to kill her, too. ...

A heated conversation about ben oxley. james asking dawn if she wants to have him killed. but thats where the stories diverge. dawn remember, says she told james, no, dont do it and fell asleep on the couch. but thats not james matleans story. >> she was ecstatic about what was happening. she was happy i was going to kill somebody. you know? >> reporter: it was after midnight. dawn drew him a diagram of ben oxleys house, said james, so he could find his way to the bedroom. then he went to the 7-...

Thats where everything in my mind that should have happened three or four hours ago happened. i started thinking why am i here? something i heard to my left -- >> reporter: a sudden noise? >> yeah. and as i turned and jerked to see what it was, i pulled the trigger. >> reporter: he ran then, he said, left the front door wide open. caught up to dawn at the truck. >> reporter: who drove? >> she did. i started yelling at her when we got in the truck. >> reporter: the truth, said james matlean, all ...

>> basically talking to melissa. im sorry. >> reporter: in exchange for his guilty plea the d.a. agreed to recommend that james could be eligible for parole after serving 24 years. >> all rise. >> reporter: the final decision up to the judge. defense attorney stover made the argument. and then melissa took the stand. >> emotionally the damage you have caused me is almost unbearable. for alyssa, you crumbled her foundation and everything she knew to be right and true. and as hard as this is to do...