Transcripts For MSNBCW Dateline 20191027 : vimarsana.com

A familys desperate search for justice. Nothing has turned out right. A wife and mother murdered. She was in a casketlike position. Her arms were crossed. Who would have a motive to kill a lady in rural iowa . This purse is untouched. Her jewelry box is untouched. Did someone have a bigger prize in mind . A family farm worth a fortune. I did not shoot my nmom and would never shoot my mom two trials and two verdicts. There are only two people who knew what happened that day. One of them is dead and the other one is sitting in that chair. Too much to bear. Its just been a hell on earth. Hello. 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. One morning, gunshots rang out, leaving shirley dead, planting the seeds of a mystery that would turn one Family Member against another. Here is Dennis Murphy with the farm. Reporter council bluffs, iowa. Te in a small courtroom, the new, and final, scene of a fouryear long drama was playing out. Count one, murder in the first degree. The defendant did, having malice aforethought, willfully, deliberately, and with ug premeditation kill shirley dean carter. Reporter its a case that ripped the stitches out of a te closeknit family. The bullet strikes her in the side. It carves a path through her st chest, shattering ribs and punching holes in her lung and heart. Reporter Shirley Carter, shot twice with a deer rifle, in the little home set in cornfields that shed shared with her husband of 50 years, bill carter. In pleasantville, iowa, so much of the rhythm of life is set by the seasons, turning the acreage, planting the seed, then bringing in the harvest, 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. We went to coffee every morning at milo, to caseys. That was a ritual. Reporter after coffee, saying hello to neighbors, they bounced back down the gravel road to home. Ba bill dropped off shirley at the top of the driveway. Ed 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. Reporter you never know, do you, bill . You dont know. Reporter bill headed off to sell a load of corn at the granary about an hour away. 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. Reporter jason, bills son, had called 911. This is what he said. My mom my mom is laying here on the floor. Blood there is blood everywhere, and shes dead, and i dont know what happened. T reporter bill got to the house, ran from his truck, passing son jason on the back deck. I went in, and there she lay. And she looked like she was asleep. Reporter not long after, Marion County sheriff, Jason Sandholt, arrived at the farmhouse. He grew up in Marion County and knew the Carter Family. Did you get into the house itself . I did. Reporter and there you are in the kitchen saying, what in the world happened here . Correct. And who would have a motive, wh would have, i mean, the desire to to kill a lady in rural iowa. Reporter the sheriff called for help. I got multiple phone calls from my boss. Reporter special agent, mark 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 from des moines. So i get here to the driveway, got multiple vehicles in the driveway. Law enforcements on the scene, and the familys kind of gathering around the big tree. Reporter does any of the arriving officers tell you, thats the husband, or thatg the son . I meet with the sheriff, and its apparent to me that these are Family Members, and i dont know names yet. Reporter as soon as he got a search warrant, agent ludwick entered the house with crime ra scene techs. It looked as though someone had ransacked the place, but, there sitting on a chair you first see this purse. Thats gonna be a key item for a burglar. Its untouched. Reporter money in it . Money in it. Cash in it. Credit cards in it. Gift cards in it. Uhm, was not touched. Reporter some papers were strewn about, huh . N that was it. Wn when we made our way into the bedroom, her jewelry boxes were untouched. Reporter and in the kitchen lay the unlikely victim, Shirley Carter, a 68yearold farm wife and mother. Shirleys body was laying right here on the kitchen floor. Reporter whats your best guess as to what happened that o day . We know the gun was in this area, and was shirley was standing in the middle of the kitchen. Reporter the first bullet went through shirleys body and pierced the refrigerator. Ou they thought the weapon was a highpowered gun, perhaps a rifle. Reporter held like this . Like e. Held reporter shooting from the hip . Held from a hip. We know shirley would have om fallen down to the kitchen floor, and the shooter would have moved up towards and then fired a shot like this. Reporter a coupdegrace shot to shirleys chest. How totally odd the way shed come to rest. She was in a casketlike position, her arms were crossed. Reporter as though the funeral director had posed her for viewing, huh . Yes, and thats not normal. Reporter 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. L coming up they are upset that were wasting time. Reporter 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. Cs emerge everyday with emergenc. Packed with b vitamins, electrolytes, antioxidants, plus more vitamin c than 10 oranges. Why not feel this good every day . Emerge and see. Is skincare from around the wobetter than olay . Olay regenerist faced 131 premium products, from 12 countries, over 10 years. Olays hydration was unbeaten every time. Olay, face anything. It can cause damage to the enamel. With pronamel repair toothpaste, we can help actively repair enamel in its weakened state. Its innovative. With pronamel repair, more minerals are able to enter deep into the enamels surface. 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In high school, she met bill. Whered you go on your first date, do you remember . Took her to the homecoming dance. She was quiet. Prettiest thing youve ever seen. Reporter 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. Reporter soon, daughter jana was born. Then came billy. Eight 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 soybeans, 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, loved being in the tractors. Reporter longtime friend and neighbor, irene schulz, said shirley brought a little pizzazz to the fields when she climbed into her custommade tractor. She always put a little bit of makeup on every morning before she went out. You mean up on the john deere . Shes shes decked out in the john deere. She she was. She had rosy cheeks. She was beautiful inside and out. Reporter in time, daughter jana married and moved away to a job in des moines. Son billy went into the heating and air conditioning 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. Reporter 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 agent mark ludwick took the lead in the investigation. First, we want to identify all witnesses and we want to separate tehem and we want to conduct a facetoface sitdown interview as soon as we can. Reporter 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 uh, she said do you want to go get coffee . Reporter in an interview room, bill told investigators the same story he told us. How he dropped shirley off at home and then ran a load of corn to the grainery and then he raced home to find his wife still on the floor. And when i went in and i felt her, she was cold. Reporter jason, in turn, said his day started pretty much the same. Hed also taken a load of corn to that same grainery. So i wouldve backed out of the drive and headed down to eddyville. Reporter later in the morning, he said he went to his parents house to help with some chores, and then discovered his mother. And she wasnt alive. It was terrible reporter 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. Reporter 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 highpowered remington. 270 rifle like this one. How did the weapon come to you . My oldest son bought it for me in 2005 for christmas. Reporter bill kept the rifle in a gun safe in his basement. The question is, where is this 270 remington and is that our murder weapon . Thats correct. Reporter the crime scene investigators had examined the two slugs theyd collected. And it could be ammo used in a 270 remington . It was a 270 round . Round. Reporter couldnt say absolutely, positively, but certainly consistent with being they were consistent. Reporter rounds fired from that type of weapon . Thats correct. Reporter bill stored that rifle, unloaded, deep in his basement. The killer would have to have gotten lucky finding the gun and 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 back out to the crime scene and then the family is mad. Reporter jason, his wife shelly, bill, and daughter jana, all gathered in the living room. And jana and bill let us have it. They are upset that were wasting time on this investigation, that were screwing up the investigation, because were looking at Family Members. Reporter bill and his daughter were right about at least one thing they were now focusing on the family. Coming up we had found out that jason carter was 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 this isnt about an affair. I never hurt my mom. When dateline continues. Hey. Hey. You must be stevens phone. Now you can take control of your home wifi and get a notification the instant someone new joins your network. Only with xfinity xfi. Download the xfi app today. Welcome back. Did someone close to Shirley Carter want her dead . A riffle missing from her husbands gun safe led investigators to believe that the killer knew where bill stored her weapons. Shirleys loved ones were under scrutiny and soon detectives could discover that someone in the carter clan had plenty to hide. Continuing. Our story, here is Dennis Murphy with the farm. Reporter 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 focused their attention. It concerned the son jason, the one who found his mothers body. We had found out that jason carter was having an affair. Howd you find that out . A friend of his during one of the interviews. Reporter jason never mentioned any problems with his marriage when investigators first asked him about that. So whos this girlfriend . We locate her. We bring her in, and we determine that theres another phone in play. Another phone . A phone that they just had. The lovers had . What they call burner phones . Kind of, off the books . Burner phones, we call it the sexting phone. Reporter the girlfriend told the investigators jason kept the phone 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. Reporter 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 cell phone over, and reporter says here you go . Knock yourself out, huh . Yes. Reporter then, a surprise, jason wanted to talk some more. Comes in on his own free will, no attorney. Reporter in this newlyreleased video, investigators went over his story again in detail. The timeline of that morning. How long from 911 phone call till your dad got there . Five minutes. Reporter 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, nothing . We begged him to take bathroom breaks. We begged to bring him food. Brought you that, i dont know if you want it or not. Im all right. You need anything else, jason . Well, whats that about . Hes gonna stay here until we believe him. Reporter he admitted to being unfaithful, but said it was ludicrous to think hed killed his mother. I never hurt my mom. If you wanna hold those affairs against me, thats fine, but i never this isnt about an 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 reporter 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. Reporter then for weeks, nothing happened. We have no leads. Nothings going on in the investigation. So the Shirley Carter murder case was heading to the cold case file . It was headed that way. Yes. Reporter but bill carter wasnt going to let that happen. He hired his own detective. Nick webb is a crime scene analyst and former homicide detective from texas. Bill instructed him to dig into the case with an open mind. If its the good, the bad, and the ugly, is it all gonna be in your final report . We are only advocates for the truth. Reporter to aid his investigation, webb purchased a rifle similar to the one missing from bills basement. The remington rifle ejects a shell casing between shots. At least one of those would have flown out, as the killer racked another round in the chamber to shoot shirley twice. It was never found. So somebody had the presence of mind to gather it up . Thats correct. Reporter and since webb promised to look at every possibility, he examined bills movements the day of the killing. Phone records show shirley making a call from the house phone at 8 45 a. M. , after bill had dropped her off. And by 9 00 a. M. , bill was spotted did he grainery, 50 miles from the house. Webb said bills only opportunity to kill her, was after that. Bill has to leave the grainery. He has to get home, kill his wife, shirley, and then leave before jason can get there. Is it impossible for bill to do all this toing and froing in the time allowed . It would certainly be a very tight timeline. Squeaky to get it done, huh . Certainly. Reporter then the private analyst looked at jasons timeline. He already puts himself there, so jason simply has to commit the murder instead of doing the other tasks that he said he did. Is it your belief that jason shot his mother . Yes. Reporter painful as it was, bill had been suspicious of his son early on, and remembers a moment when it all became clear. Not long after the murder, bill says, jason found out he was going to visit his lawyer. He came barging through the door and he said, what are you going to go see your lawyer about . And i said, i just need to get some things straightened out. Theres some things that dont add up, and thats when he slammed his fist on the countertop, and he said, my life is over reporter his life . Jasons life is over . His life is over. I knew then he had done it. Reporter it was a shocking realization. Youre telling me your boy became a monster . He did. He did. Im ashamed. You shouldnt be ashamed. You did everything you could for the boy. I didnt do something right. Shirley and i did something wrong. Reporter bill carter, tired of waiting for the prosecutor. He, the father, would take the almost unprecedented step of bringing his son before a civil jury. My attorney said, you know, we can file a wrongful death suit, and that will force the county attorney to make a move reporter bill was about to sue his son for shirleys death. If the jury ruled for the father, jason wouldnt face prison, but Something Like financial ruin. Coming up, father against son. You became a practiced, skilled and chronic liar . Reporter son against father. The killer of Shirley Carter is in this room, and its not jason carter. When dateline continues. When dateline continues 90 of women have a skincare routine. But what about a lip care routine . Pay your lips some attention. The chapstick total hydration collection. Exfoliate nourish naturally enhance your lips. Chapstick. Put your lips first. Im marlie hall with breaking news. Isis leader ago al baghdadi is believed dead in a u. S. Operation in syria. The operation was conducted by u. S. Special forces on the air and later on the ground. Confirmation of the operation came shortly after the white house announced that President Trump would be making a major announcement at 9 00 a. M. Eastern time. You can watch those remarks live on msnbc. For now, back to our regular programming. Welcome back to dateline. Im Natalie Morales. 68yearold Shirley Carter was shot dead in her kitchen and her husband bill was convinced their youngest son jason was the triggerman. Desperate for justice, bill had a civil lawsuit against his own flesh and blood. At trial, jasons cheating would take center stage and a jury would decide if its discovery drove him to kill. Once again, here is Dennis Murphy with the farm. Reporter on a december day in 2017, two and a half years after Shirley Carters murder, in this courthouse in knoxville, iowa, father faced off against son. Bill carter had spent almost a Million Dollars to get to this courtroom, and to this moment. There is not a more important courtroom anywhere in this state than this courtroom today right now. Reporter bill carters lawyer, mark weinhardt, opened by telling the jury only one person wanted shirley dead. The killer is sitting a few feet from you. Thats the killer right there, jason carter. Reporter it started like a murder case, but remember, this was a civil trial, a wrongful death lawsuit. The father, the plaintiff. His son, the defendant. The burden of proof is much lower than it would be in a criminal trial. The plaintiff only has to prove the defendant liable by a preponderance of the evidence. In other words, 51 likely that you are right. Reporter bill carters lawyer played jasons 911 call. He argued jason stated something about the time of death he couldnt possibly have known. Looks like shes been laying here for two hours. And you hear him say that his mother has been dead for two hours, which medically is absolutely not the fact based upon what we know about the condition of the body. But also, why would he be saying that, other than to already start to create the narrative, hey, it wasnt me. Reporter then bills lawyer attacked jasons character to show the jury he wasnt a devoted family man. Do you solemnly swear . I do. Reporter jasons other woman took the stand. Her name, tara hoch. She was questioned by another of bills attorneys. You could hear a pin drop in that courtroom. Reporter tara recounted her 15month affair with the married jason carter. How frequently were you guys having sex . Uh, on average it would be several times a week. Did you ever tell mr. Carter that you loved him . I did. Did he ever reciprocate and tell you that he loved you . He did. Reporter and bills lawyer said that on the morning of the murder, jason and tara exchanged more than a hundred texts on that secret phone, some of them steamy. Do you recall what your last text message from mr. Carter was . Um, it was something sexual. Reporter weinhardt said the conversation ended only when jason stopped texting as he pulled up to his parents house. Text, text, text, text, text, until 10 50 a. M. , at which point the text traffic goes dark. Reporter quiet for 13 minutes until jason made a phone call to his sister, telling her their mother was dead. Weinhardt argued that was more than enough time to kill his mother and stage a robbery. Plaintiffs call jason carter. Mr. Carter, if you would come up. Reporter then came the moment so many had been waiting for, jason, the favorite son, in his own words, telling the jury about seeing his mother dead. I couldnt believe what id found reporter weinhardt confronted jason about the affair. You did it in a friends residence, in cars, even in your own house . Correct. You became a practiced, skilled and chronic liar . Correct. Reporter now bills lawyer tried to prove motive. It was, he argued, about money. The jury was told jason was a spendthrift. He puts money into motorcycles and nice cars, and trips and vacations. Reporter at the same time, jason was expanding his farm operation. Where did all that leave him . More than 500,000 dollars in debt. Jason was as broke as he had ever been. He had 40 in his personal bank account, 80 in his Business Bank account. Reporter weinhardt said jason saw only one way out, getting control of his parents farmland, worth millions. Jason knew that he stood to inherit all of it. My dad said that shelly and i and our kids will inherit the ground, and that your sister and brother will inherit everything above ground. Reporter the lawyer mapped out his theory. Shirley had found out about jasons affair, and if shirley knew, then bill soon would know, too. Jason worried he would be disinherited. He had to stop his mother before she disclosed his illicit romance. I want you to look at the jury and tell them the truth. You shot your mother to death. Absolutely not. Reporter the jury listened for seven days to the plaintiffs case, and then came the defense. Jason had a loving, close relationship with his mother. Reporter jason carters lawyer, steve wandro, challenged the accusation that jason, in his 911 call, was trying to push back the time of shirleys death to Morning Hours when he had been accounted for on video at the grainery. Looks like shes been laying here for two hours. This is all happening within a matter of minutes. Jason was simply so distraught, and to say, you know, you shouldve done this and you shouldve done that at this and that, i think is just ridiculous. Reporter as for jasons affair . Wandro told the jury it was irrelevant, a salacious distraction, and of course jason lied about it to preserve his family. If you want to characterize him as a bad guy for carrying on an affair, fine. But that doesnt make the man a killer. Reporter jasons wife, shelly, told the jury despite everything she still supported her husband. Every day i work on forgiving, but never forgetting. I love my husband, and we have reconciled. Reporter as for the motive . Wandro argued jason didnt have one. Shelly conceded that, at one point, they owed the bank more than half a Million Dollars on their loan. But she said that was business as usual for farmers. We paid that off just like we paid it off every year so we could renew our line and start again. Reporter and then wandro boldly offered the alternative theory of the case. Mr. Weinhardt is right. The killer of Shirley Carter is in this room, and its not jason carter. Its him, the accuser. Reporter bill carter, he said, was the likely killer. Shirley, he argued, complained about him all the time. She had to get permission for everything. Reporter jasons wife testified that shirley told her bill was too controlling. Whether it be to make a hair appointment or to help with the kids, whatever it was, she had to get his permission before she could do that. Reporter wandro said it all must have come to a head on that june morning. And something happened on that friday that made him snap. And he is the one that killed his wife. Reporter after two weeks of trial, and mutual accusations, the battle between father and son went to the jury. The court will now read the verdict. Reporter it took a little over two hours to answer the question. Did jason carter cause the death of his mother . Did defendant, jason carter, batter Shirley Carter causing damages to plaintiffs . Answer, yes. Reporter jason had been found liable for the death of his mother. The jury cleared bill. It had to come. Sooner or later, it had to come. Reporter since this was a civil case, jason wasnt getting any prison time. What amount of punitive damages, if any, do you award the estate of Shirley Carter . Answer, 10 million. Reporter 10 million. Bill and his lawyer never expected to see a dime. The more important thing for bill was simply to have eight people from that county hearing all the evidence and saying jason did it. Reporter meanwhile, the County District attorney, ed bull, sitting in the back of the courtroom, had been watching closely. What would he do now . Coming up the fates were not quite through with the Carter Family. Ill got rice right into his face. Why did you kill your mother . There would soon be an act two. What is the biggest thing you have going in your favor in this thing . There really was no significant evidence against jason carter. When dateline continues. Saturdays happen. Pain happens. Aleve it. Aleve is proven stronger and longer on pain than tylenol. When pain happens, aleve it. All day strong. So, you bought those good enough paper towels . [daughter laughs] not such a bargain. Theres only one quicker picker upper. Bounty, the quicker picker upper. Come on lets hide in the attic. No. In the basement. Why cant we just get in the running car . Are you crazy . Lets hide behind the chainsaws. Smart. Yeah. Ok. If youre in a horror movie, you make poor decisions. Its what you do. This was a good idea. Shhhh. Im being quiet. Youre breathing on me if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. Its what you do. Lets go to the cemetery woman im here, and suddenly my migraine takes me somewhere else, where theres pain and nausea. But excedrin pulls me back in a way others dont. And it relieves my symptoms fast for real migraine relief. Reporter with the civil case decided against jason carter, finding him liable for the death of his mother, the District Attorney decided it was time to act. Less than 48 hours after that civil verdict, agent ludwick and sheriffs deputies arrested jason carter for the murder of his mother. I got right into his face and i said, why did you kill your mother . But you didnt get anything, huh . Didnt get anything. Stone face cold. Reporter jason carter would be brought back into court, this time accused of firstdegree murder. If convicted, he could face life in prison. Agent mark ludwick had been convinced of jason carters guilt ever since that initial interrogation a few days after the murder. Im telling you the truth. The godawful truth. Im telling you the truth. Youre not telling me the truth, jason. Yes, i am. Reporter that day, jason agreed to take a polygraph exam. Regarding the death of your mom, do you intend to answer each question truthfully . Yes. Did you physically hurt your mom last friday . No. He failed. By a big margin . Huge margin. So he totally blew the polygraph . He totally failed the polygraph. Not evidence, but guidance for you, right . Strong guidance, yes. Reporter in march 2019, the curtain came up on the criminal trial. It was firstdegree murder, and jason carter pleaded not guilty. As much as he wanted his son to face justice, bill carter knew there would be no winners. I knew there wouldnt be a good outcome. Why do you say that . If my sons guilty of first degree murder, thats not a good outcome. So thats a bad choice . Youll hear prosecutors talk about motive, means and opportunity. Well, means the. 270 was in the home. There was ammunition. Opportunity a 13minute gap in his timeline. So lets talk about motive. Reporter District Attorney ed bull was telling a jury in counsel bluffs, iowa, jason was stressed over his finances the day he killed hi mother. This case isnt about money, its about pressure. Its about am i gonna be able to be a fulltime farmer. Reporter this time around, the burden of proof would be higher, beyond a reasonable doubt. And thats a prosecutors challenge without the rock solid csistyle evidence that juries love. I want three things in a homicide case. I want forensics. I want a confession. And i want an eyewitness. In this case, i had none of those things. Reporter ed bull would pretty much follow the map of the civil trial, but the jury wasnt allowed to know about the civil case or its outcome. And bulls hands would also be tied by the judges ruling that the jury wouldnt be allowed to hear about jasons affair, or the steamy texts on his secret phone, and that jason had lied about all of that at first. Tara hoch, the girlfriend, took the stand, but only to testify to the gap in jasons timeline and to the abrupt end to their conversation. Was your conversation that morning without telling us any of the details such that you expected it was at a logical stopping point . No. Reporter as to motive, in his opening, the d. A. Had mentioned the financial pressure on jason. But in the end, he found it hard to explain why jason would have shot shirley in cold blood. Theres absolutely nothing i can tell you that would make sense of why it is a son shoots and kills his mother. Reporter now, it was time for the defense. Jason carters attorney, christine branstad, had a clear message for the jury a shoddy investigation focused on jason early, and never looked anywhere else. And there were plenty of people to question. Very significant parts of this investigation simply werent completed, werent followed, werent done. So war room, christine. What is the biggest thing you have going in your favor in this thing . There really was no significant evidence against jason carter. Reporter as in the civil case, the defense attorney argued jason had a loving relationship with his mother, that his allegedly incriminating howdidheknowthat statements were taken out of context, and, by the way, he wasnt in any financial trouble. There was a 3,000 check deposited that day, and another check for 3,000 in the mail, and 175,000 worth of grain in the bins. Reporter and as to the abrupt ending to jasons texting with his lover on the day of the murder, the defense attorney asked the girlfriend on the stand. Did you perceive in any way that jason carter was troubled on the morning of june 19th . No. Reporter then there was the timeline of that morning to deal with. All along, based on statements of First Responders and crime scene techs, it was estimated shirley had been murdered sometime just before 11 00 a. M. , when jason admits he was at the farmhouse. To counter the time of death, one of the nations most famous pathologistsforhire took the stand bcyril wecht. Wecht has been involved in thousands of cases, from the Jfk Assassination to o. J. Simpson. You were asked to attempt to determine approximate time of death for Shirley Carter, is that correct . Yes. Were you able to do that to a reasonable degree of medical certainty . Yes. Reporter wecht told the jury that shirley may have been killed two hours earlier than anyone had thought possible. If he was correct, then shirley was murdered around 9 00 a. M. , when jason was seen on video clearly still at the granary. He could not have killed his mother. So when the state says to you, all clues point to one conclusion, its all the clues that the tunnel vision of Law Enforcement and one investigator in particular went after. Reporter the defense attorney said the tunnelvisioned investigator was special agent mark ludwick. Now, he reluctantly became her star witness, with branstad rattling off the names of people whod come up during the investigation. Ludwick fumbled. You were not very aware of callie shins involvement . Thats probably correct, yes. Not aware of Jeremy Morris . I did become aware of jason morris. Im not sure of what point i was. And that would be Jeremy Morris . Is that who you i think you just said jason. Yeah, thats my mistake. And that was a big part of the point we were trying to make to the jury. Reporter while jasons lawyer argued the investigation hadnt been thorough, agent ludwick told us none of the names the defense raised were viable suspects, and they had followed every lead, even ones deemed not credible. No no credible information. Reporter would the jury see reasonable doubt . Or would jason carter be spending the rest of his life in prison . The attorneys would have one more chance to make their case. Coming up the verdict. I ask you to return a verdict of not guilty. There are only two people who know what happened that day. One of them is dead, and the other one is sitting in that chair. When dateline continues. S dramatic music and youre saving money, because you bundled home and auto. Sarah, get in the house. Were all here for you. All all day, all night. dramatic music great job speaking calmly and clearly everyone. Thats how you put a customer at ease. Hey, did anyone else hear weird voices while they were in the corn . No. No. Me either. Whispering voice jamie. What . You have fastacting power over pain, so the whole world looks different. The unbeatable strength and speed of advil liquigels. What pain . We love smart savers. Like yardsale savers. Teetime savers. 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And people inside from accidentally visiting sites that arent secure. And if someone trys well let you know. Xfi advanced security. If its connected, its protected. Call, click, or visit a store today. Welcome back. At jason carters murder trial. Prosecutors knew without forensic evidence they faced uphill battle. The defense made the case they had tunnel vision and botched the investigation. The jury was unaware jason had been found liable for his moms death in a civil trial. With the criminal case now wrapping up, the stakes were raised for father and son. Here is Dennis Murphy with the conclusion of the farm. Reporter the case of the state of iowa vs. Jason carter was about to go to the jury. There are so many holes in this investigation. There is so much that isnt even explored. Reporter jasons defense attorney made one last plea. And in reality, the forensic evidence says jason carter couldnt possibly be guilty. I ask you to return a verdict of not guilty. Reporter now the county prosecutor argued all the viable leads were followed, and the defense was just so much smoke and mirrors. If you believe this is a staged burglary, then all of the names and stuff they put up on the board is irrelevant. Reporter bull told the jury jason just snapped that morning. And in a fit of rage, had killed his mother. There are only two people who know what happened that day. One of them is dead, and the other one is sitting in that chair. Find him guilty as charged. Reporter it took the jury less than two hours to reach a verdict, about the same duration as the civil jurys deliberation. And remember, that jury had found jason liable for his mothers death. So, the lead investigator felt good about things. We felt, this is it. And i had that feeling and emotion of, hes going to be found guilty. Reporter ludwick assembled a team to take jason into custody after the verdict. Ladies and gentlemen, have you reached a verdict . Yes, we have, your honor. Reporter jason knew a conviction could send him to prison for life. We, the jury, find jason carter not guilty. Is that your verdict, ladies and gentlemen . Yes, it is. Reporter not guilty. Jason had gotten his life back. I just want to go home and see my kids. Its been a long time comin. Jason was a free man. The District Attorney says he gave it his best shot. Reporter so youre giving the jury this argument of a moment of rage. But you cant really play that movie for them and explain what it was. Its not a very satisfying thing to say, something happened. He went downstairs, got the rifle, and killed his mom. I dont disagree with you. I wish that there was a better story i could tell. But im limited based on what the facts are that i can prove to a jury. And thats the best i had. Reporter but that wasnt good enough for bill carter. The worst thing i was afraid of was that shirley would never get justice. And that happened. Is this case closed . Yes. We believe that we held the right person accountable, but if new information comes forward, we will continue to investigate this. Reporter thats just what jason carter says he wants. Find the killer. He declined an interview with dateline, but his Attorney Says he realizes some people will still believe that he shot his mother to death. Jason knows that until someone is conclusively proven to be the murderer, some people will still still suspect him. Reporter the 10 million civil judgement against jason remains in place. Hes appealing that verdict. But for now, jason is what hes always been, a farmer, and the cycles dont stop. Its planting season. And i imagine seeds are going in the ground, huh . Thats exactly it. I know that he was planting on easter day. And jason saw his father out planting at the same time. And what did he think . He said his thought was, it just seems wrong. This shouldve been the time where we were both planting and we both quit and we went in for easter dinner together. And its hard for him to understand how his family ended up split up like this. Reporter and on his side of that field, bill carter watched the son he loved so much work the land just as hed taught him. I have to farm right across the fence from him. And you see him . I was from here to that wall from him yesterday. Reporter a few feet but an unbridgeable divide when its a matter of father versus son. Thats all for this edition of dateline. Well see you again monday at im Natalie Morales. Thank you for watching. Lie mora. Thank you for watching im marley hall with breaking news. Nbc has confirmed a u. S. Operation in syria targeted the leader of isis. Abu bakir al baghdadi. He is presumed to be killed. Testing has been done to test that. The president will make an announcement at 9 00 a. M. For now, back to our regular programing. Im craig melvin. And im Natalie Morales there and this is dateline. Datelin