Page 5 - Son Aaron News Today

>> that wouldnt look good to a jury. the development brought aaron to a tipping point. were you no longer wavering at this point, aaron? had you come down on the side of, oh my god, my father killed my mother? >> yeah. yeah. >> now aaron, too, wrote his dad a letter. if he was guilty -- >> its time. its time to man up and do what you should have done two years ago. >> keiths defense attorneys went to the prosecutor to hammer out a plea deal. they agreed on 30 years in prison for the murder and f...

They would leave and go to dinner or go to town and leave the door unlocked. because cleo was the guard dog. >> fulfilled as the griffiths lives seemed to be, keith and julie were transformed when aaron and ali brought into the world their first daughter, aria. >> a first child, it was a greatest day of her life i think. >> julie lived for my little girl. she wanted to be a part of everything that she did. >> and julie was there for ali when she went into labor for their second daughter analiese...

Hour all the way back, hoping to get caught. >> reporter: as for the future, keith says, he is prepared to die in prison. >> i dont have anything to live for, except maybe forgiveness. >> reporter: from who? >> from my boys. >> reporter: and thats why youre talking today? >> exactly. yes. >> reporter: well, its between you and them, but ill -- ill tell you, my take on it is you got some distance to make up. >> oh, i know i do, ive got a lot to make up. >> reporter: of the countless things keith ...

>> reporter: six days after the cold-blooded murder of julie griffith, family and friends gathered at her church to say goodbye. between the visitation and the memorial service, son, zach, was overwhelmed. >> just showed, like, what an amazing woman -- that my mom was, to have that many people come out just to say that, you know, they just wanted to give their condolences. >> reporter: to close friends craig and temple bradley, julies husband, keith, was more emotional that day than theyd ever s...

He goes, "yeah, yeah." i could tell he was in shock. >> reporter: the news hit zach griffith particularly hard. since coming out to his mother, his relationship with her had been strained, and now this -- i guess youre just beating yourself up something terrible, that youd been sideways with her -- >> yeah. and i know that if we were just given more time, that we wouldve been close again, that we wouldve been, you know -- that mom and son duo that we were. but we just -- we didnt have the time. ...

Way about keith too. >> it seemed like he was fabricating everything that came out of his mouth. >> reporter: but there was a split in the family. despite doubts of his own, her husband, aaron, the one closest to his father, was still a supporter. >> whatever issues my mom and dad wouldve had, i just could not believe that my dad would take my kids away from their nana. >> reporter: then, a few months before keiths retrial, detective carters phone rang. there was news from the jail. an inmate ha...

>> reporter: aaron took after his dad, athletic, easy going, level-headed. younger brother zach was more of a firecracker like his mom. there was the time, for instance, in the sixth grade, zach grabbed a shovel and started digging a hole for a koi pond in the backyard. >> my parents come home. theyre, like, "what are you doing?" im, like, "were gonna have a pond." >> reporter: were they okay with it? >> yeah, they were fine. and they were kind of, like, "well, this is gonna be a nightmare." >> ...

>> reporter: what would rise from those ashes was far more than a fire marshals investigation into cause. there would be a probe into the deepest roots of a treachery beyond most peoples comprehension. >> its not true. no way. >> reporter: what had they all missed? >> a monster. a liar. a cheater. >> hes destroyed my entire family. >> reporter: before it became charred rubble, the house was home to a longtime paducah couple, keith and julie griffith. church going, golf playing high-school sweeth...

>> reporter: wow. that does make the hair on your neck stand up? >> it does. >> reporter: that wouldnt look good to a jury. the development brought aaron to a tipping point. were you no longer wavering at this point, aaron? had you come down on the side of, "oh, my god?" >> yeah. >> reporter: "my father killed my mother?" >> yeah. >> reporter: now, aaron, too, wrote his dad a letter. if he was guilty -- >> its time. its time to man up and -- and do what you shouldve done two years ago. >> report...

>> reporter: daughter-in-law, ali. >> i couldnt imagine anyone that would ever want to hurt her, much less set the house on fire, the dogs perished, i -- i had no idea what could have happened. >> no enemies. i mean, it made no sense. it -- just who would wanna kill her? >> reporter: after keith was released the night of his interview with detectives, he headed straight to his friends, the bradleys. they were floored to hear the line of questioning that he recounted. what was up with his marriag...