Page 4 - Lars Itzo News Today

>> who is the check made out to? >> debbie itzo. >> reporter: debbie itzo. proof, the defense argued, that independent debbie sometimes went by her married name. they called larss friends to say the couples marriage was solid. >> how would you describe his relationship with debbie? >> perfect. >> it was very good. >> did you ever notice any, sense any marital conflict? >> no. >> reporter: kristi itzo explained how her normally stoic brother was overcome with profound grief. >> he was crying, he ...

Ugh. oh, man! right in the freaking chest! oh! >> reporter: police raced up to the house, dashcams rolling. the audio kept recording as they entered the house. [ dog barking ] >> door creaking open and the dog is barking. >> help me! >> reporter: they found lars standing over debbies body back by the bedroom. >> lars continues to cry. >> go ahead and back up please. >> reporter: as an officer tended to debbie. lars tried to explain how the shooting happened. >> i thought there was a burglar in m...

Tears, okay, that doesnt jibe with everything else. >> these bits of emotion are only done in front of the -- the detective. theyre not done when hes alone. >> what was he doing when officers were not watching him? >> he sat in this manner. >> sleeping at moments. >> reporter: and sipping his signature drink, dr. pepper. >> reporter: free on bail, lars understood he was still under the microscope. >> it was difficult. >> he didnt sleep much. >> reporter: watching lars suffer was torture for ken ...

Caused tension. liz sevilla volunteered that lars the contractor was slow to finish projects around the house. >> she did send me a picture of what lars did in the bathroom and the measurements were incorrect. and so it ended up making a hole. she goes, "i just want my bathroom fixed." >> she would express frustrations about lars sitting around on the couch all day and watching tv. >> reporter: debbies friend ellen mitchell noticed a change in debbies behavior when she returned home from busines...

And lars were engaged. >> reporter: so baby brother finally settled down. >> he did, and he was happy. never seen him that happy. >> reporter: they married soon after at this chapel in arkansas, near her parents homes. >> reporter: how beautiful did she look on her wedding day? >> oh, she -- the main thing is she just looked so happy. that was really important to me. >> reporter: debbie and lars embraced the contented rhythms of married life, spending weekends with family. enjoying the outdoors ...

He couldnt see what he was shooting at. he thought their lives were in danger. >> i had seen the movement in front of me and i had pulled the trigger at that time. >> he said he was a good man who made a horrible mistake. >> did you -- at any time? >> no, she was the love of my life. >> a mistake he said he would regret forever. >> she was hurt pretty bad. she would have -- >> on cross-examination prosecutor carl alexander challenged lars key claim, that in the kadark he simply couldn distinguis...

The company was found guilty for putting a carsgenic agent in its products. now back to "dateline." >> reporter: as 2015 gave way to 2016, investigators werent so sure debbie kelly had been happy in her marriage to lars itzo and they took a closer look at the circumstances of her death. >> reporter: they pulled all those recordings from the day of the shooting, examined larss behavior, his turns of phrase, even things he didnt do. starting with the 911 call. >> reporter: this is lars in the firs...

Story. >> i seen people right here so i told her to wait here. >> i seen people running. i heard the dog growling. >> reporter: in his interview down at the statement, lars revised his story again. thats when he said he woke to the front door squeaking, and offered, for the first time, this description of how he realized hed shot debbie. >> i heard this groaning and i knew it was my wife. >> reporter: during those interviews, lars appeared heartbroken, at times falling apart. >> he was described...

The shooting, lars headed back to the station and sat down for a polygraph test. >> he volunteered to go do it. hes like, ill take a polygraph. >> cause he said he didnt do anything wrong. >> yeah. >> reporter: but the polygraph indicated lars was deceptive in some of his answers. his brother and sister said it was perfectly understandable. >> well, hes nervous. hes in shock, you know? >> he couldnt even get his name right, his birth date, where he was born. >> reporter: maybe so but his perform...

It soon became clear they wanted to hold lars accountable. >> for a term of 15 years. >> 15 years, just a few years shy of the maximum sentence. i spoke with lars at the state penitentiary in beeville, texas, where he said he carries a photo of debbie in the pocket of his prison uniform. >> i kiss her picture every morning, every night. >> i asked him to skdescribe on again what happened the morning he shot debbie. >> i woke in the middle of the night. >> the story sounded familiar, but then -- ...