Maybe someone else was. The man in the guest cottage, was he more than a tennant . He was a freespirited surfer dude. Blood drops, mystery dna, then a secret email. Was the wrong man on trial . I did not kill carol. So much tragedy, so much heart break. It was very emotional for me. We just kept waiting for them to figure out that they had it wrong. Reporter im lester holt and this is dateline. Heres Keith Morrison with mystery on bridle path. Narrator it was early evening in a town called prescott, arizona. It was cooling down, air cooling down to a fine evening warm. Here at the towns historic rodeo grounds, refugees from the summer heat in phoenix, settled into the stands to enjoy the annual exploits of the cowboys. At the very same time on the edge of town, a woman named Carol Kennedy jogged along the base of the mountain. Sometime after 7 00, she turned into her big backyard on a street called bridle path. She arrived at the backdoor of the house she intended to inhabit for the rest of her natural days. But of course, Carol Kennedy had no idea that that was going to be her last day. And no, it would not be natural at all. Its the biggest loss of my life to this day. Its profound. Its piercing. Its constant. Narrator Carol Kennedy was in, as they say, a good place in her life. This is her friend Kathryn Morris. Carol was the epitome of kindness and living a life from a perspective of having an open heart and being loving. Narrator before she became a first friend, Kathryn Morris was a student of Carol Kennedy at the college. Her classes were always full, hard to get into. What was he like . She was magnetic and she was always searching for the truth. And you just sort of gravitated her. Charisma that pulled her students in, especially maybe you . She was soft and inviting. My name is Carol Kennedy, i live in prescott, arizona. Narrator we get a sense of her personality in this 2006 interview, in which she was interviewed about her passion, teaching. Its like you get to give seeds to this first row here, and then they turn around and they give it to rows behind them. Narrator and in fact she shared those passions with the man who was her husband for 25 years. Love of her life, really. Steve demock ever. They were crazy for each other. 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. Narrator all of us being the democker family, high achievers, all of them. Sharon is a doctor. Its an accomplished bunch. As one of my friends said, theres not a weak link in this group. Narrator carol and steve got married in her parents backyard in rochester, new york. Steve was the one that started the adventuring side of things. First there was skiing and hiking and kayaking. They moved around as people do, and wound up in prescott, which seems to be the Perfect Place to raise their daughters, katie and charlotte. Its a testimony to the kind of people that steve and carol with were, that the girls were their first priority. Steve became the dean of students, carol taught psychology there. Steve decided to change careers, left the academic life. Nobody knows all that what goes on inside a marriage. But i did talk with both of them about it. They both struggled because their lives were moving in different directions. Narrator and as much as they still cared for each other, there were infidelities. Steve had an affair. They decided to separate. Carol loved steve fiercely. She fought hard for her marriage until the end. Narrator but in 2008, after more than 25 years of marriage, five living apart. Carol filed for divorce. She was sobbing and at first when she called me, it was like, oh, oh, no. And then i realized that the sobbing and the wailing on the phone, it was a mixture of things. Open arms. Narrator time for a fresh start. Carol had left teaching by that time and was focused on a new passion, painting. Her art was developing, she was really doing well with that and taking off of that. Narrator of course she remained close to her daughters, but she also stayed close to steve. And in fact, just a few days before that july morning, the whole family went to the airport that morning on a study abroad trip to south africa. Charlotte was staying with her dad in prescott. Nothing ahead now but the long, easy days of summer. As she jogged the last few yards to her house, carol passed by the rental cottage she arenrent out to help with her expenses. It had its own house and it had a kitchen and bath and shower and rooms. Narrator it was comfortable having someone else on the property. The names name was jim natt, a bit of an odd duck, carol said, but the man didnt cause any trouble. Jim natt was just a free spirited surfer dude from hawaii who hang ten. Narrator she took him in as a border . It was my understanding that he had been diagnosed with cancer and i think they sort of cosu supported each other with all of the things that they were experiencing. Narrator carol made a salad for dinner, read her email and settled in for an evening at home. She called her mom, ruth, who was now living in tennessee. Ruth was 83, the call a nightly ritual and then, at 8 00 p. M. , odde esest thing. The line went dead, but not before ruth heard something rather terrifying. Ruth tried to call back, nothing. And there she was so far away, and now, worried. So she decided to call the Sheriffs Department, whose headquarters is here in downtown prescott. Sheriffs office, how can i help you . Yes, my name the ruth kennedy and im calling from nashville, tennessee. I was on the phone with my daughter and she screamed and said oh, no and the phones gone dead. And is there anything you can do . Can you go check . Narrator oh, no. Those two words played back again and again in ruths worried brain. And so began a mystery, and a story too unbelievable even for some of its most intimate participan participants. So what happened to Carol Kennedy. That question would take years to answer. Not just what happened to carol, but who could have been behind it . She didnt have any enemies . None. None. We were just stunned. And you said no phones. The vacation youve been looking for is here. Come and take it, universal orlando. And then a 3 15 with my guilt. [ female announcer ] special k cracker chips. 27 crispy chips. 110 delicious calories. Same time tomorrow . [ female announcer ] find them in the cracker aisle. [ female announcer ] find them in the cracker aisle. [ female announcer ] find them in the cracker aisle. 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Love the iams difference or your money back. Everin a day is building up layer, upon layer, of bacteria. And to destroy those layers . You need listerine®. Its unique formula penetrates these layers deeper than other mouthwashes, killing bacteria all the way down to the bottom layer. So for a cleaner, healthier mouth, go with 1 dentist recommended listerine®. Power to your mouth™. Also try new listerine® naturals. The only mouthwash that combines the power of listerine® with naturally sourced ingredients. Children can learn from anyone. Thats true, but it takes Exceptional Talent to capture a students curiosity. And inspire them to pursue their dreams. So be a teacher. Our nations future depends upon it. The more you know. Ruth tried back, couldnt reach carol. Then she called the Sheriffs Department. Shes out there, she screamed and said oh, no and the phone just dropped and im at my wits end. Did you call her or did she call you . She called me tonight, she calls me every night, because im 83 and she worries about me. And we were having our conversation and all of a sudden she just screamed and said oh, no. And i havent been able to get her to answer the phone back. Im afraid something bads happened. Okay, ruth. And who does your daughter live with . Shes recently divorced. Shes alone. Whats your daughters name . Carol kennedy. Narrator did you notice what she said, recently divorced . Certainly the operator heard it. Do you believe theres any reason she would be concerned if her husband came back . I dont think so, i dont think its that kind of a thing, you know. Okay. Friends all knew that even after their divorce, steve and carol still cared deeply for each other, and their two daughters. That connection between the two of them interests me. They took time to nurture their relationship and to spend time together and do think, that they enjoyed doing in bringing up katie and charlotte. Narrator but carol wasnt answering her phone and ruth was frantic. Well have someone go out there and check on her and theyll give you a call. Narrator you can imagine what that was like for ruth, so far away, waiting for a phone call. She knew carol had a border, that offbeat dude named jim natt. But steve would know what to do. She called him on his cell phone and when he didnt pick up she left him this message. This is ruth, on the phone with carol. And she screamed and said oh, no, and dropped the phone and i cant get her back. Maybe you could check on her and let me know something. Jacob was actually living there while he tried to sort out a few issues with his parents. What was your relationship like with him and what was charlottes relationship like . Charlotte was very close with steve. He offered me to stay with him before, you know, tried to figure something out, just to make my situation with my parents better. So i have a lot of respect for him. Definitely looked up to him. Steve, an avid outdoorsman was out for a Mountain Bike ride. And it was getting late. Really late. We usually would have dinner there pretty late. It was normal to have dinner at 9 00, 9 30. When he hadnt come home around that time is when we kind of started to get a little worried, that maybe he had crashed or gotten hurt or something. What did you do . Charlotte called his cell phone and no answer . No answer. Did it go straight to voicemail . Yes. Narrator anyway, hungry for dinner, they went to the store for groceries. Probably around 10 00, 10 15, and he told us that he had a flat tire and he was at the Workout Center and he was going to finish his workout there. What happened to his phone . That it had died. While he was out there with the flat tire . Yes. Narrator they made a quick dinner, vegetable stir fry, it was late, but then again, it was a mild summer night, not a care in the world, it seemed, no idea what was happening at the house on bridle path. Reporter coming up im getting worried about you. Reporter panic begins, a daughter rushes to the scene, what would she find . She started to cry pretty hard. Reporter when dateline kofblts. Benjoy the bacation. S first class flavors from applewood smoked bacon to big mac special sauce come together for an allinclusive taste sensation. Nothing rules like mcdonalds new bacon clubhouse sandwich. Try new olay fresh effects everything off wipes to remove makeup. And bright on schedule eye roller to instantly depuff. For instant beauty sleep, no sleep required. [ female announcer ] at 100 calories, not all food choices add up. Some are giant. Some not so giant. When managing your weight, bigger is always better. Ho ho ho green giant [ male announcer ] dont wait for awesome. 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Narrator the beginnings of panic bubbled up in charlottes brain. She and her boyfriend called around to local hospitals but nobody named Carol Kennedy had been admitted to any of them. So this is nighttime, is there any thought of going over there . We had talked about it. Narrator steve was concer d ed about carol of course, but as her new exhusband, he had a feeling too. They had just gotten the divorce and he didnt feel comfortable invading her privacy, if she was on a date or Something Like that. So charlotte and i decided we would go out there and check on her, and see if anything was out of the ordinary. Narrator it was after midnight when charlotte do you remember what it was like driving over there . Very quiet. I dont even remember we spoke very much at all on the way there. Because . Just nervous. A little anxious . 1234r right . As soompb as we got to the top of the hill, we could see the sheriffs lights and all the cars and just the worst thoughts are going through my mind at that point. It almost hits you here before it hits you here. You kind of feel it in your stomach first for sure. Then we got closer to the house and we saw caution tape and all the people running around and everything. We had pulled up and stopped on the side of the road and two sheriffs walked up on either side of the car, we rolled the windows down. Did this person know who you were . I think they thought we were just passing through, and charlotte said no, this is my moms how. And he said im sorry to tell you, but carol passed away. At that point she just immediately broke down, started crying pretty hard. Narrator charlotte dropped the phone, fell to pieces. Were you frightened . A little bit. Really more to for charlotte. I mean even now i dont think i could figure out how to console someone in that situation. Narrator maybe steve would know what to do. I picked up the cell phone and told steve what had happened that he needed to come down and be with charlotte. Narrator and steve . He was taken aback. It was almost kind of like disbelief, like he didnt really know what to say really. Kind of hear him choking back some tears a little bit. And that was hard. Narrator right away steve rushed over to carols house. A detective had a recorder going, you could hear charlotte sobbing and steve talking. The last time i saw her was, i dont know, its been a while. Narrator someone else talked to the detectives too, someone who showed up just minutes after police got there. Jim natt who had a lot to say about carol. But he didnt stop there. Reporter coming up it was certainly a gruesome scene. Reporter blood drops, mystery dna. What does that do . Not sure, but it looks awesome. We heat the room to 110 degrees. Huh . Shes fine. On your right what did you get . No clue, but its jacked with protein. Wow in a world filled with fads, its nice to get back to basics. Seriously dude . Meat, cheese and nuts . Seriously. New p3 portable protein pack. Its 13 grams of serious protein, without taking itself too seriously. Its the original protein. Its oscar mayer. Cats are smart. So they deserve fresh step scoopable litter. Because fresh step is made with carbon, which traps and eliminates odors. Its the smart litter for smart cats. Behaves like the surface of your skin. Now watch what soap does to it. Soap strips your skin. Dove is different. With 1 4 moisturizing cream, dove doesnt strip your skin like soap. Narrator just before 9 00 p. M. , july 2, around the time Carol Kennedys worried family members were recording phone messages to each other. The Sheriffs Department was dispatched to carols home on bridle path. The home was dark. He shined a light through the window. Saw a bookcase toppled over, and blood everywhere. Thats when mike was pulled into the strangest case of his career. The kind of case he had moved to prescott to avoid. It was a quaint Little Community nestled in the pines and not a whole lot of crime, especially from what i was used to. He put in 27 years in the Phoenix Police department. This job with the county Attorneys Office was supposed to be an escape from big city crime, and here he was, middle of a july night, looking at one very brutal homicide. What did it look like . It was certainly a gruesome scene, not only a large amount of blood on carols body, but also on the furniture that was nearby, blood spatter that had been castoff on to the walls and other items as well. So that tells you something about how she died. She certainly died a violent death. Narrator Something Else, as he surveyed the room, he could see that whoever did this was trying to fool them. How did he know . When he looked past the obvious gore, he couldnt help but notice, things had been moved around after carol was dead. There was a ladder that was placed over top of her body. That, along with some of the blood that had splattered on to a bookshelf and then the shelf was knocked over, obviously several minutes after the blood hit it. Unlikely that it was just tottering and eventually collapsed. That could not have happened. So is thats a pretty significant little detail then . Absolutely. Narrator staging, there were even some drops of blood just outside the door. The blood trail led detectives to another discovery. Shoe prints outside the house. There was a lot of tracks out t