Position. Her Jewelry Boxes untouched. Did someone have a bigger prize in mind . A Family Farm Worth a fortune. I did not shoot my mom and i would never shoot my mom. Two trials. Every emotion hit. Two verdicts. There were only two people who knew what happened that day. One of thems dead and the other one is sitting in that chair. Too much to bear. Its just been a hell on earth. Hello and welcome to dateline. Bill and Shirley Carter built a comfortable life and raised a family on their sprawling farm in americas heartland. As their golden years approached the couple fell into a routine. Daily coffee, Working The Fields and spending time with the grandkids. But one morning gunshots rang out, leaving shirley dead and planting the seeds of a mystery that would turn one Family Member against another. Heres Dennis Murphy with the farm. Council bluffs, iowa. In a small courtroom the new and final scene of a four yearlong drama was playing out. Count one murder in the first degree. The defendant did with malice and forethought with premeditation kill Shirley Carter. Its a case that ripped the stitches out of a closeknit family. He strikes her in the side. It puts a hole through her chest, shattering ribs and perching holes through her long and heart. Shirley carter shot twice with a deer rifle in the cornfields she shared with her husband of 50 years, bill carter. In pleasantville, iowa, so much of the Rhythm Of Life is set by the seasons. Planting the seed and then ringing in the harvet, corn and soy mostly. So that june morning in 2015 dawned with no particular omens. Shirley carter and her husband bill, started their day as they always did with coffee at the general store. They went to coffee every morning to caseys. That was a ritual. After coffee, saying hello to neighbors, bill and shirley went back home. Bill dropped off shirley at the top of the driveway. I let her out of the pickup and she said i think ill finish my coffee before i chore. And i said, honey, ill see you between 11 00 and 11 30. You never know do you, bill . You dont know. Bill headed off to sell corn at a granary. By 11 00 a. M. He remembers being just a few miles from home when he got a call from his daughter. And she said, dad, moms dead. Jason found her. Jason, bills son, had called 911. This is what he said. My mom my mom is laying here on the floor. Theres blood everywhere and shes dead and i dont know what happened. Bill got to the house, ran from his truck, Passing Son Jason on the back deck. I went in and there she lay. She looked like she was asleep. Not long after Marion County sheriff Jason Sandholt arrived at the farmhouse. He grew up in the county and knew the family. Did you get into the house itself . I did. And there you are saying what happened here . Correct. And who would have a desire to kill a lady in rural iowa . The sheriff called for help. I got multiple phone calls from my boss. Agent ludwick works for a division of the state police, the department of criminal investigation, the dci. This was his first case in pleasantville, about an hour away from des moines. There were multiple vehicles in the driveway, Law Enforcement on the scene and the family is gathering around the big tree. Does any of the arriving officers tell you thats the husband or thats the son . I meet with the sherriff and it was apparent to me these are Family Member and i dont know names yet. As soon as he got a Search WarrantAgent Ludwick entered the house with Crime Scene Techs. It looks as though someone had ransacked the place but there sitting on a chair you first see this purse. Thats going to be a key item for a burgular. Its untouched. Money in it . Money in it, cash in it, credit cards in it, gift cards in it. Was not touched. Some papers were strewn about. Thats it. Her Jewelry Boxes were untouched. And in the kitchen was the unlikely victim. Shirleys bodies was lying right here on the Kitchen Floor. We know the gun was in this area and shirley was standing in the middle of the kitchen. The first bullet went through shirleys body and pierced the refrigerator. They thought the weapon was a high powered gun, perhaps a rifle. Held from the hip. We know shirley would have fallen on the Kitchen Floor and the shooter would have moved up towards and then fired a shot like this. A coupdegrace shot to shirleys chest. How totally odd, the way shed come to rest. She was in a casket like position. Her arms were crossed. As though the Funeral Director had posed her for viewing . Yes, and thats not normal. There were still tests to be done, interviews to conduct, but it was coming. Coming with the relentless fury of an iowa summer twister. No stopping it. A family was about to be destroyed. The investigation starts with a closer look at the family, which didnt make the family very happy. Coming up they are upset that were wasting time. But police had their reasons. The Murder Weapon may have belonged to someone within the family. So the question is where is this 270 remington. Thats correct. When dateline continues. In Iowa Cornfields a warm sun was beating down on the farmhouse where a Murder Investigation was under way. Shirley carter was lying dead, shot in her kitchen. The sheriff and his team of investigators were trying to figure out what had happened. When your Crime Scene Techs cleared the house, they really didnt have much for you, did they . They did not. No forensics, no blood, no dna, nobody walked in front of a security camera. Right. So, to understand Shirley Carters death, theyd have to learn more about her life, a back story to a murder. Turned out she was a local girl. Her dad a grocer, her mother an assistant at a law office. In high school she met bill. Whered you go on your first date . I took her to the homecoming dance. She was quiet. Prettiest thing youd ever seen. As bill tells it, they were kids in love, deeply. Maybe carelessly. During her sophomore year shirley got pregnant. We were married at a very young age. I was 18 had just turned 18 and she was 16. Soon, Daughter Jana was born and then came billy. 8 years later jason completed the family. With three kids to raise, bill and shirley went into farming. On a small plot of when dateline continues. Wh but this is my story. and with oncedaily trelegy, it can still be beautiful. Because with 3 medicines in 1 inhaler, trelegy keeps my airways open for a full 24 hours and prevents future flareups. Trelegy also improves lung function, so i can breathe more freely all day and night. Trelegy wont replace a Rescue Inhaler for sudden breathing problems. Tell your doctor if you have a Heart Condition or high Blood Pressure before taking it. Do not take trelegy more than prescribed. Trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. Call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. What a Wonderful World [laughing] ask your doctor about oncedaily trelegy for copd because breathing should be beautiful, all day and night. Whoa, how did you defeat them . Because breathing should be beautiful, with a little kung fu strength and by connecting my devices to the most powerful force of all. Skadoosh. Hah, huh . Cool right . Amazing. Harness the power of xfinity internet and stay connected to the things you love. Ah, theyll be like this for hours. Hello dad, hello dad, hello da. Uhoh. Good bunnies. Ahh Dennis Murphy voiceover in Iowa Cornfields, a warm sun was beating down on the farmhouse where a Murder Investigation was underway. Shirley carter was lying dead, shot in her kitchen. Sheriff Jason Sandholdt and his team of investigators were trying to figure out what had happened. In Iowa Cornfields a warm sun was beating down on the farmhouse where a Murder Investigation was under way. Eny Shirley Carter was lying dead, shot in her kitchen. The sheriff and his team of investigators were trying to figure out what had happened. When your Crime Scene Techs cleared the house, they really didnt have much for you, did they . They did not. No forensics, no blood, no dna, nobody walked in front of a security camera. Right. So, to understand Shirley Carters death, theyd have to learn more about her life, a back story to a murder. Turned out she was a local girl. Her dad a grocer, her mother an assistant at a law office. In high school she met bill. Whered you go on your first date . I took her to the homecoming dance. She was quiet. Prettiest thing youd ever seen. As bill tells it, they were kids in love, deeply. Maybe carelessly. During her sophomore year shirley got pregnant. We were married at a very young age. I was 18 had just turned 18 and she was 16. Soon, Daughter Jana was born and then came billy. 8 years later jason completed the family. With three kids to raise, bill and shirley went into farming. On a small plot of starter land they grew some corn and soy beans. Then plowed the profits into more prime iowa acreage. Shirley loved farming. She did everything. She just took to it, huh . She was a natural. She loved being in the tractors. Long time friend and neighbor, irene schultz, says shirley brought a little pizzazz to the fields when she climbed into her custom made tractor. She always put a little bit of makeup on every morning before she went on. Up on the john deere shes decked out . She had rosy cheeks. She was beautiful inside and out. In time, Daughter Jana married and moved away to a job in des moines. Son billy went into the heating and airconditioning business. But jason the youngest child took to the land. I really enjoyed working with him. I was teaching him. He is a good farmer. Jason would carry on the Farming Tradition for another generation. And best of all, he and his wife shelly lived close by. Bill and shirley soon had grandchildren to dote on. A happy Family Picture suddenly disfigured by the ugly murder of Shirley Carter. Dci mark ludwick took the lead for the investigation. First of all, we want to identify all witnesses, we want to separate them and we want to conduct a facetoface sit down interview as soon as we can. Early on, the most important witnesses were bill, the husband, and jason, the son. Ludwick assigned deputies to take the two down to the pleasantville pd. And she said do you want a cookie, coffee . In an Interview Room bill told investigators the same story he told us. How he took shirley home then took a load of corn to the granary. And how he raced home tofind his wife still on the floor. When i went in and i felt her she was cold. Jason in turn said his day started pretty much the same. Hed also taken a load of corn to that same granary. I went back down the drive and headed down to eddyfield. Later in the morning, he said he went to his parents house to help with some chores and then discovered his mother. She wasnt alive. It was terrible. With their accounts on the record, deputies sent bill and jason home that night. The farmhouse was still taped off as a crime scene, so bill stayed at jasons place. And i didnt sleep that night. I smoked cigarettes and i walked that deck. In the meantime, crime techs had finished with the scene and deputies had seized half a dozen guns they found in the house. Jason took a look at the inventory of weapons theyd confiscated and he noticed one gun was missing. A high powered remington 270 rifle like this one. How did the weapon come to you . My oldest son bought it for me in 2005 for christmas. Bill kept the rifle in a gun safe in his basement. So, the question is where is this 270 remington and is that a Murder Weapon . Thats correct. The Crime Scene Investigators had examined the two slugs they collected. And it could be ammo used in a. 270 remington. It was a. 270 round. Certainly consistent with being rounds fired from that type of weapon. Thats correct. Bill stored that rifle unloaded deep in his basement. The killered with have gotten lucky finding the gun or the ammo. Or investigators thought maybe the shooter was someone who knew where that gun was, maybe someone in the family. That didnt go over well with the carters. We go over to the crime scene and the family is mad. Jason, his wife shelly, bill and daughtera jana all gathered in the living room. And jana and bill let us have it. They are upset that we are wasting time on this investigation. That were screwing up the investigation because we were looking at Family Members. Bill and his daughter were right about one thing, they were now focusing on the family. Coming up we found out that jason carter is having an affair. If jason was hiding an affair, was he hiding Anything Else . I never hurt my mom. If you want to hold those affairs against me thats fine. But i never hurt i never hurt my mom. When dateline continues. Dat emergenc crystals pop and fizz when you throw them back. And who doesnt love a good throwback . emergenc crystals. Ever notice how stiff clothes can feel rough on your skin . For softer clothes that are gentle on your skin, try downy free gentle. Downy will soften your clothes without dyes or perfumes. The towel washed with downy is softer, and gentler on your skin. Try downy free gentle. Is softer, and gentler on your skin. Welcome back. Did someone close to Shirley Carter want her dead . A rifle missing from her husband bills gun safe led investigators to believe her killer knew where bill stored his weapons. Welcome back. Did someone close to Shirley Carter want her dead . A husbands bills gun safe led investigators to believe her killer knew where bill stored his weapons. Shirleys loved one was were under scrutiny, and soon detectives would discover that someone in the carter clan had plenty to hide. Continuing with our story, heres Dennis Murphy with the farm. Shirley, the farm wife and mother, had been gunned down in her own kitchen and there was no obvious explanation for the crime. As investigators began digging into the Carter Family background, though, they came across a detail that became the focus of investigation. It concerned the son jason. The one whod found his mothers body. We found out jason carter was having an affair. How had you find that out . A friend during the interviews. So whos this girlfriend . We locate her, we bring her in and we determine theres another phone in play. Another phone . A phone that they just had. The lovers had, what they call burner phones, off the book. Burner phones, we call it the sexting phone. Jason kept it stashed away hidden under the hood of his pickup truck. Jason not only didnt mention the affair in his first interview, he also never told investigators about that secret phone. Does it change him, where he stands in your suspects . Absolutely. He gets elevated at that point. If jason had tried to hide the affair, Agent Ludwick wondered if jason was hiding Anything Else about his mothers murder. The investigator called jason and told him he knew about the affair and the phone. So, he says, i will meet you at the sheriffs office. Hes there and he hands the cellphone over. Says here you go, knock yourself out, huh . Yep. Then surprise. Jason wanted to talk some more. He comes in on his own free will, no attorney. In this Video Investigators went over his story again, in detail, the time line of that morning. How long from 911 phone call till your dad got there . 9 minutes. Jason was bent on letting them know he had nothing to hide. No matter how long it took, bring on your questions. And he sits in a chair and he proceeds to sit in this chair for over 10 hours. Lets do this. Lets step out. Were going to give you a minute. Im fine. Doesnt shift. Doesnt move. Doesnt stand up. No bathroom breaks, no nothing . We begged him to take bathroom breaks. We begged him to bring him food. Brought you that. Dont know if you want it or not. You need Anything Else . Whats that about . Hes going to stay here until we believe him. He admitted to being unfaithful, but said it was ludicrous to think he killed his mother. I never hurt my mom. If you want to hold those affairs against me thats fine, but i never this isnt about the affair. I never hurt my mom. I walked in and found my mom the way she was. This is about shirley being killed. I know that and youre not doing anything about it, because whoever did kill her is still out there. He headed home, but a cloud of suspicion hung over the Carter Family. Not only over jason but bill, too. Bill knew Agent Ludwick was looking at him since he was the last person known to have seen shirley alive. And he said, you know, you could have done this when you brought her back from coffee