Page 4 - Larry Crouch News Today

>> which child went to hawaii on vacation? >> perhaps that money was my own money. prosecutor never bothered to figure out what dollar went where, did they? >> you made it hard because you were mixing up the trust fund money and your money all the time. frankly, that is what scam artists do. >> im not a scam artist. >> why didnt you get a job. >> i had a job. >> im talking about a job that pays enough to support a family which is what a dad does. >> you are reading from a script the prosecutor h...

Loudly and he struck her with something more than once. at that point, i assume he suffocated her. >> then, said the prosecutor, he must have dragged debbies body to the garage, put her in her own van, disposed of her somewhere and drove to fresno. and then left the van in a high crime zone. how did he get back home? that accomplice, said the prosecutor, must have picked him up and driven him the 40 miles back to his farm. but really, there was no body, no dna, no forensic evidence to show dave ...

Ex-wifes murder. yet they were convinced he killed her. why? because they learned she was about to expos him for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars for a trust fund set up for his kids. now they had to convince the prosecutor to take the case to trial. and dave hawks actions were about to force a decision. here wen is keith morrison. i kept pushing and pushing and we kept sitting back. >> the prosecutor at the time, larry crouch, told his investigators he would not charge dave hawk wi...

Were you afraid your father was going to find out what you were doing with that money with the trust fund? your father who lovingly put the money into the trust fund before you siphoned it out. >> i really dont like the way you are characterizing these things. i really dont like the way the prosecutor has accused me of -- >> whether you like it or not, those are the accusations. >> yeah. and they are not right. they are wrong. they are false. which part did you not understand? >> what part did i...

>> oh, no. why are they putting it in? i thought it was harmful. >> though what the jury thought no one could say. then there was inevitably a conversation about whether or not dave would testify. >> i told them i wanted to testify. >> an idea daves attorney did not like one bit. >> dave is a combative individual, he is prideful, he is offended easily. >> he thinks he is smart and hates for anyone to think he is not smart. he would be perfect fodder for a trained prosecutor. >> and so dave held ...

Debbie worked in pharmaceutical sales. perhaps a drug addict had gone after the samples she kept in the van. all of the pharmaceuticals in her van were missing. somebody took them. >> that was a ludicrous idea, countered the prosecution. debbie carried very few samples. anyway, if drug theft was behind it why didnt the thief take any jewelry or electronics? no, it all seemed to come down to dave. his character, his behavior and his own words, like a conversation with a friend police recorded whe...

But prosecutor larry crouch heard disquieting reports from his investigators. >> they started surveilling our office, the police offices, eventually starts driving by an investigators home. it was getting pretty concerning out there. >> time to move. on may 29, 2008, dave hawk was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and a special circumstance murder for financial gain. he pleaded not guilty. when the trial finally began more than a year later dave faced murder and the earlier embezzlem...

You took a trip to hawaii with your girlfriend. you paid off your divorce attorneys fees and money you took from the first set of trusts by taking $60,000 out of the kids second trust fund. >> the money was used for the children. >> which child drove the lexus? >> all three children were driven in the lexus. >> which child went to hawaii on vacation? >> perhaps that money was my own money. prosecutor never bothered to figure out what dollar went where, did they? >> you made it hard because you w...

After the samples she kept in the van. all of the pharmaceuticals in her van were missing. somebody took them. >> that was a ludicrous idea, countered the prosecution. debbie carried very few samples. anyway, if drug theft was behind it why didnt the thief take any jewelry or electronics. no. it seemed to come down to dave. his character, his behavior and his own words and a conversation with a friend police recorded when dave speculated what might have happened to debbie. the defense played it ...

Low temperatures. back to "dateline." >> welcome back to "dateline." im craig melvin. even though investigators looking into the homicide of debbie hawk had no physical evidence tying her husband dave to the crime, they did uncover some information about possible financial wrongdoing on his part. police considered it strong enough to warrant an arrest, but could they get the prosecutor to agree? here with more of our story is keith morrison. i kept pushing and pushing and we kept sitting back....