Page 22 - Michael Beard News Today

The list? >> yes. i didnt expect to see him again. >> reporter: to the investigator and those close to kelley, michael beard didnt seem like a good suspect after all. >> reporter: did you think it was -- it was possible that hes a disgruntled employee? he was, you know, taking revenge? >> i didnt. because if youre disgruntled, why wouldnt you kill the person that youre disgruntled against? i mean, "im -- im angry at you, so im going to go kill your wife." >> reporter: but as a matter of procedur...

Everyone was there. >> i just remember corey clenching, keep clenching his fists, and walking up and down the road the whole time. somethings not right. somethings is not right. something doesnt add up. and we were all just so confused. they wouldnt tell us anything. >> nothing, you knew nothing. >> nothing. >> can one of you stay with him? thats the husband. >> reporter: one comfort, officers told the family that kelleys children were safe at a neighbors house. they didnt mention what the eldes...

>> come on over here, tom. youre not in trouble, okay? im just going to have you have a seat so we can talk to you. >> reporter: so despite what the little girl thought she saw, the investigation was far from over. authorities were asking, who on earth would want kelley clayton dead? coming up -- >> i remember kelley, you know, not wanting to be home alone if he was there. a suspect whos no surprise to some. and a second suspect who is. >> it doesnt feel like a slam dunk here. >> no, it does n...

I did not feel -- i felt there was something wrong here. just -- >> reporter: why? >> cop intuition i guess is -- >> reporter: that -- >> -- what it was. >> reporter: that maybe this isnt medical. >> that yeah, there was something more to it. it just seemed that way. >> reporter: his instinct proved right. still, he didnt expect what came next inside the home of tom and kelley clayton. this is footage from the body camera swan was wearing that night. he arrived to find a man outside coming towar...

>> reporter: but now the millers wondered, had they missed something? they started thinking like detectives. >> im, like, going over everything in my head. and im like, "what the heck? why?" you know, all this stuff. "who could it be? whats going on?" >> reporter: then linda miller remembered tom at the poker game, asking a favor. >> i was doing dishes, and he came into the kitchen and said, "hey, can i borrow your phone for a second?" he says, "i left mine out in my car. i have to call work." i...

>> we were screaming, wailing. i mean, i was throwing up on the side of the road. >> you cant believe shes dead. i mean, its, like, its inconceivable that she could be dead. >> they wouldnt let you see kelley either, right? >> no. they just kept saying, "kim, you dont want to see her." >> was your first instinct that maybe there was some kind of a home invasion? >> yes, it was. >> some stranger. >> yes, it was. >> reporter: kelleys best friend got a call from kims husband corey. >> and my dad dr...

>> what time is this? >> this is, like, 6:00 in the morning. >> 6:00. >> right. >> thats pretty early to get a knock on the door. >> "nothing good happens from answering the door--" >> right. >> at 6:00 in the morning. >> reporter: when greg realized it was the police at his door, his first thought was that his daughters had been in a car accident. >> the investigator told me, "no, nothing is wrong with your daughters. did a guy named hockey puck, as you know him, or tom, play poker here last ni...

Murder kelley unless he was sent there by the defendant, tom clayton. the state called linda miller to testify. she recounted how tom borrowed her phone and then deleted the number hed dialed, never dreaming shed do her own detective work. >> you really connected the dots. to get the police to this moment. >> yeah. >> she did good. >> if you can call it good. >> reporter: finally, the prosecutor said he knew why tom wanted his wife dead. he called kelleys niece mollie to the stand. >> he just to...

And then kelley was murdered the, like, night of the 28th, 29th. so it wasnt long at all. >> reporter: was it possible that beard was angry about losing his job and that kelleys murder was some kind of revenge? molly went through her cell phone and her facebook contacts and gave investigators beards address. >> i gave that to them. and they were just like, "okay, thank you." >> reporter: the steuben county sheriffs office needed all hands on deck and called in the new york state police for assis...

Knocked off the wall. there was a landing. the stairs go straight down. and then theres a left turn landing. and there was a big hole in the wall, like where a body part of some kind had gone into the wall and broke the wall. i knew that just from my experience, training that, "okay, this started up here and worked its way down there." >> reporter: and she was fighting. >> she was fighting. yes, she was fighting. >> reporter: next they searched the basement and the rest of the house. >> i dont s...