Sharon Democker News Today

2006 interview, in which she was asked about her passion for teaching. >> such a gift to feel like you get to give seeds to this first row here and then they turn around and give it to rows behind them. >> reporter: and in fact she shared those passions with the man who was her husband for 25 years. love of her life, really, steve democker. >> they were crazy for each other. >> reporter: sharon democker is steves sister. >> carol was really easy to love. she was kind of a natural fit in the fami...

>> reporter: sharon democker is steves sister. >> carol was really easy to love. she was kind of a natural fit in the family. she was just immediately a sister to all of us. >> reporter: "all of us" being the democker family. high achievers, all of them. sharon is a doctor. >> its an accomplished bunch. one of my friends said, "theres not a weak link in this group." >> reporter: carol and steve got married in his parents backyard overlooking lake ontario, near rochester, new york. an outdoor wed...

>> reporter: before she became a close friend, katherine morris was carols student at prescott carols friend. >> she was very well-respected and admired, her classes were always full, very difficult to get into. >> what was she like? >> she was magnetic. and she was always sort of searching for the truth. and you just were gravitated to her. >> charisma that kinda pulled her students in, especially maybe you. uh-huh, uh-huh. she was soft and inviting. >> im carol kennedy. i live in prescott, ari...

Did mr. democker flee or not? thats a yes or no question. >> no, he did not flee. >> reporter: and steves sister sharon had a simple explanation for those coincidences, the night of the murder. the circumstantial evidence. like his dead cell phone battery. >> i think most of us with cell phones can appreciate that later in the day its not uncommon for the battery to go. >> but their ears perked up when he drew the route and part of it came within a mile of the house on bridle path. >> well, he l...

Mr. democker. >> reporter: steve began dating renee when he was separated from carol. they were together during that tumultuous time, steves divorce, carols murder, his arrest. renee had always stood by steve and his family but sechez had a feeling. >> we were pretty convinced that she knew more than she was telling us. >> reporter: sechez knew something else too. during the trial renee broke up with steve. so on the eve of her testimony sechez interviewed renee again about that "anonymous e-mai...

A smear of blood. and heres the bombshell. neither one belonged to steve democker. >> there were a lot of red flags. calling all sunscreen haters. youre gonna love this. new coppertone sport clear. not thick, not hot, not messy, just clear, cool, protected. coppertone sport clear. proven to protect. my gums are irritated. i dont have to worry about that, do i? harmful bacteria lurk just below the gum line. crest gum detoxify, voted product of the year. it works below the gum line to neutralize h...

Case playing out in fits and starts here in prescott. was apt to be a little suspicious of steve demockers behavior after the killing. getaway bag? fake e-mail? defense attorneys craig williams and greg parzych could see that as well as anyone. but was he guilty of murder? no, they said. rather, he was the victim of some detectives tunnel vision, beginning with a sloppy investigation. >> there was kind of cavalcade of people roaming through this scene that they didnt lock down, tromping through ...

>> reporter: mornings dawned cooler in the arizona mountains, the summer flags in the town square were stored away for another year. and the murder trial of steve democker ticked into its fifth, fitful month. the prosecution had amounted to circumstantial bits and pieces to that point. and investigator mike sechez knew that steve was likely to mount a strong defense. >> mr. democker is a very intelligent individual. >> mm-hm. >> but hes also a very narcissistic personality. you put those togethe...

Prescott town square in anticipation of the annual rodeo. and, on june 3rd, inside the squares historic court house, county attorney joe butner opened his case against steve democker by ticking off the reasons why, in his view, steve deserved to spend the rest of his natural life behind bars. by this time, pre-trial legal rulings had taken the death penalty off the table. though attorney butner told the jury the case was no less condemning. >> i will ask you to find the defendant guilty of the f...

>> and youre suspecting me. >> well, we have no other person right now. >> reporter: in which you can hear the suspicion, said the defense. and steve, said the attorneys, felt a cold fear overcoming him. >> hes afraid of whats happening, that the investigation is all on him, theyre not focusing on anybody else, anything else that focuses on him, and hes afraid that nobody will believe him. >> reporter: thats why he buried the getaway bag, they said. wasnt a sign of guilt, but of terror. in fact,...