and he told me that he also was getting close to a divorce. he just wanted to be done. reporter: the prosecutor told the jury this was tom s motive. he wanted to get rid of his wife but keep everything else. i think he was concerned that his wife, if they went through a divorce, that she probably would get everything and this was an opportunity just to start anew. reporter: the millers listened and wondered how they could be so wrong about their old friend tom clayton. we didn t obviously know until the trial of the affairs and stuff. you really didn t know tom at all? no. correct. correct. that s the scary part. reporter: after seven weeks the case went to the jury. kelley s sister and the prosecutor braced themselves. now we wait. reporter: but not for long. it took jurors just six hours to make their decision. as they filed back into the courtroom, the reporter noticed a change in tom clayton. that was really the first time that i saw on his face that you got
the prosecutor knew he couldn t use beard to testify against tom. even if he came forward and said, i want to testify now, he had lied so many times. he had lied at his own trial. beard had changed his story so much at his own trial that he wouldn t have been a credible witness. reporter: tom and his lawyer pounced on that, telling reporters that beard acted on his own. this is purely mr. beard s doing, what we do know is that mr. clayton had nothing to do with the death of his wife. reporter: and tom s lawyer didn t stop at michael beard. he went after the investigators. he said they had tunnel vision when it came to his client. he said, you ll hear it. u ll hear it from e body cam video. she s beat the [ blee] she s beat up. you got a suspect? the husband. the husband? reporter: the lawyer believed everything that followed in the investigation had been poisoned. he was simply just being wrongfully accused and police
the jury this was tom s motive. he wanted to get rid of his wife but keep everything else. i think he was concerned that his wife, if they went through a divorce, that she probably would get everything and this was an opportunity just to start anew. reporter: the millers listened and wondered how they could be so wrong about their old friend tom clayton. we didn t obviously know until the trial of the affairs and stuff. you really didn t know tom at all? no. correct. correct. that s the scary part. reporter: after seven weeks the case went to the jury. kelley s sister and the prosecutor braced themselves. now we wait. reporter: but not for long. it took jurors just six hours to make their decision. as they filed back into the courtroom, the reporter noticed a change in tom clayton. that was really the first time that i saw on his face that you got the sense of this guy final knew that, oh, god, i
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 he d dialed, never dreaming she d 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 kelley s niece mollie to the stand. he just told me a lot of stuff about their relationship. reporter: molly told the jury about the summer she worked for her uncle tom. she said he talked a lot about his marriage. that he wasn t in love with her anymore, that kelley was very lazy. and he told me about him trying to sleep with other women and that he was sleeping with other women. and he told me that he also was getting close to a divorce. he just wanted to be done. reporter: the prosecutor told
reporter: and he seemed determined to profess his innocence to anyone who d listen. he said, i d like to tell you my side of the story. i said, i really don t want to hear it. i don t want to get any more involved. and he s, like, partially crying and he s saying, you know, i wouldn t do that. reporter: months went by as the state prepared the case against each man. michael beard was the first to go to trial. in court, he recanted his confession and changed his account of the murder. but prosecutor weeden wetmore said evidence put beard at the crime scene. his dna was found where she had fled after being struck in the head with the murder weapon. reporter: it took jurors only seven hours to convict him. a jury finds michael beard guilty of what the prosecution is calling a murder for hire scheme. reporter: if beard s case had been a slam-dunk for investigators, tom clayton s would be anything but. the prosecutor knew he couldn t use beard to testify against tom. even if