Transcripts For MSNBCW Dateline Extra 20181230 : vimarsana.c

Leads. Until we asked who is that . And he says, hes my neighbor. He lives two floors below. A suspect under arrest. Having Somebody Just taken away. Case closed, or was it . Could there be Something Else or someone else theyd missed . There were so many parts of the puzzle that were not adding up. Someone had pulled the trigger, but had someone else pulled the strings . He was the type of guy that could take bad luck and turn it into fortune. Suspicion. The sky beginning to brighten, sun not quite up. And then there they were. The voices, the terror. The nightmare beginning. I immediately ducked down in my car after first shot was fired. I laid there thinking, okay, this is how its going to end for me. 911. What is your emergency . Somebody just shot a man lying dead in front of the village inn. Reporter it stands in stark contrast to much of the rest of Salt Lake City, this old chocolate factory, this grand stage for our story. It was converted to loft apartments in those boom years before the bust. And the style of living and location drew a distinct crowd. Outliars of a sort, iconoclasts to the mormon city. I loved this building. Reporter bianca pearmanbrooks, born into privilege, raised in africa. She came here in 2006 to visit a friend. I came on holiday and i miss christopher and we hit it off. Reporter christopher wright, a Real Estate Developer lived in the same loft building as biancas friend. There was a party in the building, bianca was invited. In one night you knew . Yeah. Yeah. Reporter to anyone watching, it was an obvious perfect match. Friends and loft neighbors dave and lisa mccammon. Bs so lovely and kind of quirky. She brought that playfulness out in chris. He was a positive guy before. He was ecstatic after. Reporter though it was threw, blind, passionate love that drove bianca to give up her whole life back in england to move here to utah to be with chris, where six months after that first moment they laid eyes on each other, they were married. He felt very safe. Reporter his protector and incurable romantic. This is a guy who cries always through romantic movies. He cries like a baby from the start to the finish of that movie. Anything romantic really . Are you serious . Reporter it didnt take long for bianca to become firmly entrenched in loft living. Academics, airline pilots, fgtss, documentary filmmaker, olympic speed skater, mortgage broker, socialites. Reporter john fife, an advertising copy writer was one of the first to buy in the building. This building was a fantastic collection of interesting people. Reporter none more so than perhaps the buildings most gregarious and outsized personality david novak. He was so nice and entertaining and funny and charming. This building is for the people who just really liked him. And i would count myself completely as one of them. Its impossible not to be charmed by david. I adore the man. We were, i would say, basically best friends here in utah. Reporter davids huge person tail fit his apparently oversized professional accomplishments. Investor, restaurateur, owner of an extremely unusual Consulting Firm whose sole specialty was preparing wealthy clients for, of all thing, prison. He was hired to help put their affairs into order before they went to prison, help educate the family on what was going to happen, get the best sentencing for him. Reporter that business grew out of personal experience. He himself was a felon. Served a year in federal prison for mail fraud. But he was the type of guy that could take bad luck and turn it into fortune. Reporter so most everyone in the building seemed to be living large in those good old premeltdown days when into the mix was introduced a new ingredient. A businessman with real money. It was noefb ak, said bianca, who did the introductions. Christopher had an office about two or three blocks from here. And there was a starbucks i had always went to. And he went over there and novak was there with ken dolezsar and he introduced them. Reporter ken dolezsar lived in a wealthy enclave just south of Salt Lake City. A very nice guy by all accounts with a big extended family and money to invest. Truckloads of money. Hed already loaned novak 1. 85 million to make a movie about his prison consulting business. And soon ken and chris began working on a real estate deal. They spoke sometimes and they had contacts back and forth. Im really im a girl. Reporter and you werent interested. No. So dull. Reporter fall came to Salt Lake City. Leaves yellowed and fell. The economic crisis started toward them like a low black cloud. As a businessman ken zoel czar, chris wright and novak began their hustle and flow. But the storm bearing down on them was loaded not with economic ruin but Something Else entirely. I couldnt believe it. No one everyone, all of our friends. We sat there. We couldnt move. It was like it was just unbelievable. What was so unbelievable . A crime that would rock the loft to its foundation. The hand came up, out came a gun and pointed at the other man right in the face and pulled the trigger. dad got it . boy got it. dad its slippery. boy nooooooo. grandma nooooooo. dad nooooooo. dog yessssss. vo quick, the quicker picker upper bounty picks up messes quicker and is two times more absorbent than the leading ordinary brand. boy hey look, i got it. Bounty, the quicker picker upper. Theres no place likargh e im trying. Yippiekiyay. Mom. So now it was that morning, 7 00 a. M. , november 15th, 2007. 911. What is the address of your emergency . Reporter detective dean caringer was on the freeway when his radio went off. I heard there was an actual shooting. Reporter thats my department. Thats where i need to get busy. Reporter he had the address, the parking lot of the village inn restaurant, in a town called sandy, his town. It was a very violent scene. The victim was shot five times. The fifth shot was done while the shooter was standing over top of him and shot him in the face. Reporter yeah. Oh. The shooter was making sure he was dead before he left. Reporter cold, methodical, like a professional hit. Yet amazingly, somebody was sitting in a car maybe six feet away, watched the whole thing. Ordinary guy minding his own business. Now eyewitness to a brutal slaying. The mans name was lee carlson. The hand came up, reached inside of his pocket, out came a gun. And pointed at the other man right in the face and pulled the trigger. Reporter here at the Police Station lee told how he ducked out of sight after that first shot. But not before he got a glimpse of the shooter. As far as i can remember he had a longer nose. And i cant tell eye color but his eyes seemed to be more bulgy. You just saw a glimpse. I know year asking a lot. Reporter but what stood out most ways his hair, long, tied in a ponytail. Looked out of place like a wig. Before the shooting, said lee, he heard the mans voice, sounded Eastern European, maybe slavic. Police believe both men came here in the victims car, which the shooter then used to flee the scene. As for the victim, you heard the name by now ken dolezsar, the extremely wealthy local investor. My daughter called me just bawling. She told me kens been shot, and hes dead. Wow. Reporter matt beaudry considered ken dolezsar to be one of his closest friends. They coached a hockey team together. He was deeply concerned for the boys on the team. I watched him pull out his wallet and slip money into the kidss pockets because he heard they needed tuition money, couldnt buy their books. Reporter now his friend, their friend, was dead. Some of those kids just broke down and bawled. Reporter at the loft building in downtown salt lake, the news rocketed from floor to floor. After all a couple of residents including biancas husband were doing business with dolezsar. It felt like rubber necking in a car crash. Wow, somebody you knew could be murdered. Reporter who could want a man as nice and generous as ken dolezsar dead . But then its almost a truism of police work where money goes trouble often follows. The more money, the bigger the trouble. And in this case, an extra dollop. The mans fortune wasnt really his, strictly speaking. He married into the bulk of it. The fortune came from a company his wife founded with her former husband. The divorce had been nasty. Family loyalties bitterly divided. And some family members werent the least bit happy that ken was making investment decisions. Detective carriger contacted kens brother and broke the news. Dropped down to his knees, and he said its that [ bleep ] derrick. Reporter a moment of unguarded grief and rage and thus a possible suspect. Derek mower, kens adult stepson. It was apparent there were difficulties between those two. Reporter but trouble in the family didnt stop with derrick. There seemed to be a riff. Reporter but not between dee and ken. Theirs seemed to be a genuine love story. But now a grieving dee told detectives she was as baffled about the murder as they were. She was not able to provide us any information as to who he was meeting that day or anything about his day. Reporter and despite all that friction, the infighting over money and control, dees family produced not a single viable suspect, not even kens stepson. Derrick had an ally buy at the time of the murder. Reporter but those initial interviews werent entirely in vain. A clue emerged from kens assistant. The night before the murder she said ken got a call on his cell. She knew that he had set up a meeting to meet with whoever he was talking to at 7 00 a. M. On the 15th. Reporter the day and time at which ken dolezsar was shot to death. Was the caller also the killer . If so, they now had his voice because earlier that caller left this phone message. Hey, ken, this is robert. I talked to dave. He said when you get to reporter detectives traced the cell and went to the store where someone bought it. This phone was purchased with cash with no identifying information provided to the carrier. Reporter but the family did have a suggestion for the detectives, something they actually agreed on. He should look carefully at a man named david novak. Yes, that david novak. Remember novaks consulting business for prisonpound executives . Guess what . Dee mower was incarcerated in federal prison. Reporter tax fraud. Kens wealthy wife dee was novaks client. Thats why ken dolezsar knew ken novak. And something made kens relatives suspicious. So detectives drove over to the loft where they spoke with mr. Novak. He was soft spoken. Reporter and a bright man. He came across as very intelligent, yes. Reporter answered all the questions but didnt seem to be of much help. Then as detective carriger was preparing to leave, he tried one more question. That prepaid cell phone, the one someone used to invite ken to the fatal meeting, the store had Surveillance Video of a man buying that very phone. Kens family set they didnt recognize him, but would novak . Carriger showed him the photo. We asked who is that . He says hes my neighbor. He lives two floors below. Reporter and just like that, a big piece of the puzzle plopped into place. But fair warning as youll see, puzzle pieces and some residents of this downtown loft might not be quite what they seem. Coming up while the investigation takes as many turns as one of the buildings hallways. Ive never had a case this complicated before. Maria ramirez . Hi. Maria ramirez mom maria Maria Ramirez. Mcdonalds is committing 150 Million Dollars in tuition assistance, education, and career advising programs. Prof Maria Ramirez mom and dad Maria Ramirez to help more employees achieve their dreams. Is the fact that its very, very tough on bacteria, yet its very gentle on the denture itself. Polident consists of 4 powerful ingredients that Work Together to deep clean your denture in hard to reach places. That Work Together this is a commercial about insurance. But lets be honest. Nobody likes dealing with insurance. See, esurance knows its confusing. I literally have no idea what im getting. I dont know either. Im just the spokesperson. But thats why theyre making it simple so that even actors, like us, can understand it. Im not an actor. Id love to tell you more but i only have thirty seconds. So heres a dramatic shot of their tagline so youll remember it. When insurance is simple, its surprisingly painless. Once again, keith morrison. It was almost a month after the murder of ken dolezar. His friends still coming to terms with it. I think what if . All the fun we could have had if he hadnt been taken. Until now, the investigation seemed to be going nowhere and then as detective carriger was about to leave, he showed him the photo from the store. He said thats chris wright, my neighbor, he lives two floors below. His good friend and husband of the irreplaceable bianca. This is definitely somebody we want to talk to. Carriger arrived unannounced and almost before he could ask a question, he said, chris launched into a story about ken dolezar, claimed the man was so paranoid he wanted the man to buy a prepaid cell phone so he could communicate in complete privacy. To carriger the story seemed too reversed. Covering, trying to account for things we knew. I see. Odd. Then as the interview went on, he said chris voice began to sound familiar. The voicemail that police believed helped lure ken to his death. Hey, ken, this is robert. To me, that was chris voice on that phone. The detectives pulled out a search warrant. Bianca was home when the police arrived. Its surreal. You have, like roving gangs of toddlers who are ripping everything apart. They turned our sofas upsidedown and took apart the lining. They took apart my toaster. They take everything apart. A ballistics report told police the murder weapon was a. 9 millimeter handgun. Chris was an avid collector of guns and among them, police found an empty case for a springfield armory. 9 millimeter handgun and what do you know, the gun that went with it was missing. Chris wright was arrested and charged with the murder of ken dolezar. A massive sense of disbelief. He was being completely taken out of the view and for no reason. The loving husband who cried his way through romantic comedies, a coldblooded assassin . Impossible. It quite literally wasnt possible, said bianca, for chris to have killed ken dolezar that morning. He had an ally. He was in the loft. I was there. He was home in bed with her. He was a foot from me. There is theres no room for doubt. This surely had to be a colossal misunderstanding. Bianca sought support from her neighbors including david novak, he only friend with intimate knowledge of the legal system. He he comforted you. He was, yeah. He asked me how everything was going and what was happening with christopher and whether our attorneys were doing the job they were supposed to. She told him everything, she said, and he assured her the mistake would soon be rectified. She believed him. I dont want to be married to a murderer. I would not fool myself. There was a seconds doubt in my mind he did not do this. But some of their friends in the loft werent so sure. I started to feel sorry for her thinking, oh my gosh, you poor naive girl. You know, youre going to be crushed by this. At the sandy, utah, justice center, the case that police turned over to josh player then the District Attorney seemed very clear. The evidence was exceptionally strong in this case. It all kept pointing in the direction of mr. Wright. There was the surveillance photo, the voice message which was placed from a spot near the loft according to cell tower tracking and the eyewitness. Hed been shown a photo lineup with chris in it and now he remembered some details a little differently than he had that first traumatic day. Like chris blue eyes in the photo he said jarred something in his mind. I was 80 to 90 certain that this was the man i saw. Then he found a picture of chris on the web and tried photo shopping in a few details like a wig. I looked at that and said, yeah, that looks almost exactly like what i saw. Reinforcing a memory. But was the memory accurate . As for the rest of the case, the investigation wasnt over yet. The story just begun. The first puzzle pieces placed where they seemed to fit. But ive never had a case this complicated before. Oh, even more than complicated. As those friends in the loft began to believe, something darker than that. Suspicion returns after the break. pirate girl ahoy excited squeal, giggling panting gotcha man ah girl nooooooooooooo man nooooo girl nooooo. vo quick, the quicker picker upper bounty picks up messes quicker, and is two times more absorbent than the leading ordinary brand. man and pirate girl ahoy laughing vo bounty, the quicker picker upper. Welcome back to dateline extra. Im craig melvin. In the search for ken dolezars killer, they believed it pointed to chris wright, arrested and charged for murder. Soon, damning new evidence would emerge linking him directly to the crime scene. For his wife, bianca, the pieces of this elaborate puzzle simply did not fit. Was it possible chris was being framed . If so, why . Here, again, is keith morrison. Strange times around the loft building in downtown salt lake. So shocking that one of their own, chris wright, had been arrested and charged with killing wealthy businessman ken dolezar. All of the evidence we obtained led up to chris wright being the triggerman. In the suv ken drove to his fatal morning meeting, for example, the killer used that vehicle to flee the scene and when the cops found it and scoured the interior, they got a hint. Chris dna. We had a dna result from the inside door handle of the suv. It was a tiny sample, not a perfect one, but it seemed to put chris in ken dolezars car, drivers side, which certainly helped the case. But it wasnt quite airtight. Not yet. The murder weapon had not been found. Yet, they found an empty gun case in chris and biancas apartment, but nothing to connect the case to the murder. And just about then the sergeant for the District Attorneys office just happened to call me and ask, hey, did you ever look in that gun case, was there shell casing or anything in that gun case . Turns out, the guns manufacturer includes a testfired shell casing with each gun it sells. So the detective went to the evidence locker, he said, retrieved the gun case. Looked inside and there was a casing. Big moment. Big moment. Big moment because when ballistics tested that shell casing it was a match. That shell casing was fired from the same gun as the shell casings recovered at the scene where ken dolezar was killed. Chris wrights missing gun must have been the murder weapon. Now the case looked very strong, indeed. Though chris wife, bianca, certainly didnt think so. I know for certain categorically that christopher didnt do it. In fact, the police and prosecutor had it all wrong, she insisted, and it wasnt just that chris had an alibi for the morning of the murder, no, she said it was the whole case. It was all wrong. Chris dna in the car, for example, of course it was there, she said, chris admitted hed been in the car but weeks before the murder. But get this, the steering wheel, especially, and all of the car, was covered with dna and fingerprints that did not match chris. Nor did bianca buy lee carlsons story. He said the guy had an Eastern European accent. Christopher is american born and bred. He also said hed only seen a glimpse of his face. Only saw a glimpse. In fact, said bianca, the eyewitness account more properly eliminated chris as a suspect. Ken and his killer arrived in the crime scene together in the same car. Think about it, said bianca. I looked at him, did he wear a wig . Would chris wear a wig to a meeting someone who already knew him, met him, particularly someone as cautious as man . You have a deeply paranoid man, ken dolezar, whos doing business with christopher and has met him. You dont think if christopher got into the car or wigged up that he would think that was slightly strange . And if the eyewitness was right, the killer shot with his right hand. Christopher is staggeringly left handed. Staggeringly left handed. Then there was the business of eye color. Now long after the event, the eyewitness was saying the killer had brilliant blue eyes. But right after the murder cant tell eye color, but his eyes seemed to be more bulgy. He got more and more refined in each interview with the police. Brilliant blue eyes. Yes. Of course, you can see brilliant nordic blue eyes from the side. What about chris suspiciously missing handgun . The one linked to the crime . Bianca says she is certain chris did not use it to kill ken dolezar that morning. Impossible, she said, because he no longer had it. That gun, i lost, back in the summer. I lost . Yeah. You just lost the gun . I have a horrible habit of losing stuff. Before chris ever met ken dolezar, she took some visiting british friends on a shooting excursion to the great salt lake. They finished at sunset. And i put down this little gun, the springfield, on the ground, right next to the bag. And i went to, like, help somebody with Something Else. Then she got distracted, she said, packed up the rest of the gear, went home, and neither she nor chris ever saw that gun again. Biancas proof the gun was missing . This video made just over a day later by her british visitors who wanted to document their uniquely american experience. In their video, there was no sign of a springfield armory. 9 millimeter. I lost stuff and it was a bone of contention between chris and i. While the prosecution scoffed at biancas lost gun story, her loft friends did not. It you know sweet bianca, she accidentally threw her wedding ring away. She can be an absent minded dingbat. Remember the day the police took apart her loft . They took apart my toaster. She watched intently as the officer looked in the empty. 9 millimeter gun case. I was sitting next to her. No test fired gun casing, she said. I dont mean to sound cynical, but i know it wasnt there. Only possible conclusion, said bianca, it was her accusation, the sandy police must have planted the shell casing in order to look chris missing gun to the crime scene. One thing that will be hard for people to accept is the idea that this detective would do something as unethical as plant evidence. It was not there. I know that. The Sandy Police Department categorically denied the accusation. But as those loft friends heard more of Chris Wrights side of the story from bianca, they became convinced, he was innocent. There were so many parts of the puzzle that were not adding up. Unless, they reasoned, unless someone they knew very well wanted chris to take the fall. A dark suspicion wafted through the corridors of that old chocolate factory. Perhaps the police, they said, arrested the wrong neighbor. He had the perfect patsy in christopher. The neighbor started comparing notes and realized someone in their circle was not who he seemed. Coming up we were astounded. I remember saying to him, what . When suspicion continues. Got directions to the nightclub here. And if you get lost, just hit me on the old horn. Man toms my best friend, but ever since he bought a new house. Tom its a 10 cover . Oh, okay. Didnt see that on the website. Hes been acting more and more like his dad. Come on, guys jump in the waters fine tom pritchard. How we doin . Hi, there. Tom pritchard. Can we get a round of jalapeno poppers for me and the boys, please . Ive been saving a lot of money with progressive lately, so. Progressive cant protect you from becoming your parents. But we can protect your home and auto when you bundle with us. 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Friends in the Salt Lake City loft building mulled over the dark suspicions swirling through their hallways. Chris wright was in jail awaiting trial, but many residents were now convinced police had the wrong wan. They believed investigators should be looking at another neighbor. One who was about to make a startling move. Here, again, is keith morrison. Among residents of the downtown salt lake loft, an idea took root around the story of the murder of ken dolezar. It was planted just weeks after chris was arrested. Loft residents, dave and lisa, were having dinner with their best friends, the novaks. He announced, were moving. And we were astounded. And i remember saying to him, what . Youve put all this money into your loft, youve got all this investment here, why are you leaving . He said, its just time to go. Hed claimed to be their great friend, sociable, gregarious, larger than life. Then said his neighbors, once chris was arrested, he seemed nervous. And now he was gone. And so they wondered, was david novak running from something . The loft friends began reexamining all those stories told them over the years, particularly those about his criminal past. Started comparing notes and stories and it becomes clear, wow, david told me a different version of that. Hed been lying, to put it rather bluntly. Certainly not full truths. The brief prison term for mail fraud novak told them he served, turns out there was more to that story, a lot more. Novak confessed to a con that played out like a cinematic thriller. He used a private flying club he owned to run an insurance cam. Then as it caught up to him, he attempted to escape by faking his own death. Ditched his airplane in puget sound. He faked his death in order to avoid insurance audit. That was not a crime of passion. That was a crime of calculation. Or so the loft friends believed, and if that was true, what might he have done here in salt lake . Theyre suspicion only grew when the friends found out novak left town without mentioning it was he who fingered chris in that surveillance photo. Did he ever tell you, i identified christopher as the guy who bought the cell phone . No. Of course that prepaid cell phone was the very clue that led police to chris, a phone which chris bought, said bianca. After novak assured him. Novak had said that this guy routinely used these throwaway phones. Whats more, said bianca, chris could not have left the voicemail because by the time of the murder, hed given the phone away. He gave it to novak. And novak gave it to dolezar. Yes. Yes. As far as we know. Novak. So we dont know anything. And now a theory about motive drifted from loft to loft. Hadnt novak borrowed almost 2 million from ken . The friends said they watched him spend lavishly on high living and never saw evidence of that movie the loan was supposed to pay for. Really, was their old friend capable of orchestrating murder and pinning it on chris . Theres one person that bragged about knowing russian mafia. How hard would it be to find somebody that looked like chris, and he introduced chris from the very beginning with that in mind of setting chris up. I know it sounds like a just really dumb movie, but if you had ever met novak, the man has a byzantine mind. She recalls all the supportive chats she had with novak after chris arrest. Turns out he was probably fishing for information. It reminded friend, john fife, of a conversation with novak one night after they dined together. John posed a question, he said, mostly in jest, of course, just hypothetical. I said, david, have you ever contemplated committing the perfect murder . And he said, yes, the key element to that is making sure that someone is caught and charged with the crime. Once they have somebody, theyll stop looking and thats how you can really get away. And now, novak had taken off. And even though their questions didnt amount to hard evidence, of course, chris Defense Attorneys wondered as they prepared for the trial why the politician had so readily dismissed novak as a suspect. Dismissed him and a few other quite puzzling discoveries like, for example, the one about kens widow, dee. Remember, she was in prison at the time of his murder. When she first talked to police, she told them she had no idea her husband had a meeting the morning of his murder. No clue who he was meeting with. Turns out, she was not telling the truth. Hello . You have a call from an inmate. Hello . Hi, honey. Its standard procedure for prisons to record inmates phone calls. This is ken talking to his wife, dee, night before his murder. Im actually meeting with my friend tomorrow at 7 00 a. M. , go figure that out. I love it. Yeah, exactly. So tomorrow morning, 7 00 a. M. , so tomorrow night i should know more. Police confronted dee in prison. Recorded the interview. In it, she claimed the stress of losing her husband caused her to forget about that phone call. And then she dropped a bombshell. She said she knew who the friend was ken was supposed to meet and it wasnt chris wright. She never heard of him before. David novak. Thats who i believe he was meeting. Chris defenders wanted to know why the police didnt seem to follow up on that or probe more deeply into all that tension of dee mowers family. Odd. All of it. The feeling, to them, that something was missing. That the case against chris simply didnt hold together. So as chris trial finally got under way, bianca felt her husband was as good as home. I was just, like, brilliant, you know, we now, you know, they go away, they do their thing, they come back and i get my husband back. Coming up chris wright makes his case to dateline. Taking on that Voicemail Message central to the case. Was it his voice . The people who are going to watch your show are going to listen to that recording, and i usual them to make their own decision. When suspicion continues. Its time for our lowest prices of the season on the new sleep number 360 smart bed. It senses your movement and automatically adjusts to keep you both comfortable. And now, the queen sleep number 360 c4 smart bed is only 1299. Plus, 24month financing on all beds. Ends new years day. With my bladder leakage, the products ive tried just didnt fit right. They were too loose. Its getting in the way of our camping trips. But with a range of sizes, depend fitflex is made for me. With a range of sizes for all body types, depend fitflex underwear is guaranteed to be your best fit. Theres no place likargh e im trying. Yippiekiyay. Mom. Chris wrights murder trial began in april 2010. It had been more than two years since ken dolezsar was shot dead in the village inn parking lot in sandy, utah. Chris defense did more than challenge the evidence. It made a provocative claim, that chris wright was the victim of a conspiracy. A conspiracy hatched right here in the loft by former neighbor david novak to protect the real killer by setting up chris to take the fall. A conspiracy the prosecution brushed off as nonsense. You would have to believe, for it not to be chris wright, that it was somebody that looked like chris wright, sounded like chris wright, had the phone bought by chris wright, used the gun bought by chris wright, had Chris Wrights dna, had a connection to ken dolezsar to find that it wasnt chris wright. Reporter but all of that claimed chris defense the clever novak was quite capable of setting up. He could have it set from start to finish. Reporter like a chess move 20 moves ahead. Yep. Reporter but that didnt explain the Good Samaritan eyewitness that sat in court and pointed his finger at chris wright. Im very certain and clear of what i saw. I may not have told it initially off the bat under the full stress of what i saw, but i know what i saw and i know who i saw. Reporter except there is one person who said he is most certainly sure lee carlson is mistaken. Chris wright himself. I will answer any question you want to ask. Reporter chris was jailed right after his arrest. He wanted to make his case to dateline in the flesh, but authorities wouldnt allow it so we talked to him on the phone. You say you didnt do it. I absolutely did not do it. Reporter we discussed all the allegations at length. He offered detailed and allegations of his own. That david novak is crooked and the only person who was innocent as the driven snow is you. Its not my fingerprints, it doesnt match my description, i had an alibi, i have no motive and theres clearly a person who is pointing the finger at me who got 2 million. Reporter this is too cloak and dagger for a jury. I understand how difficult it is to believe, but the alternative is that i just simply got up one day and decided to go shoot some poor person in a disguise. Reporter chris wanted to talk about that voice mail, the one that helped lure ken to his death, the voice mail detective carriger was sure was left by chris, though no voice analyst ever studied it. People who are going to watch your show are going to listen to my voice and theyre going to listen to that recording, and i urge them to make their own decision. Reporter yeah, lets listen to it right now, all right . Absolutely. Go right ahead. Reporter ken, this is robert. Talking to dave and he said well get to it pretty soon here. Reporter that is you, huh . That is absolutely not me. Reporter the jury got the case in 2010. A jury that certainly heard about but never saw the mysterious david novak. So did they buy the prosecutors evidence or biancas explanations, her alibi for chris . I was concerned because id been told that sometimes it can be a crap shoot was the phrase that was used. Reporter the jury deliberated for 11 hours, and the verdict guilty. I cant even begin to explain. Its like the bottom falls out of your world. And he wouldnt let me hug him. You know. Sorry. Just give me a sec. Reporter thats all right. Take your time. Crying is not acceptable. Reporter and why is that . Because im english. Reporter but for kens friends, at least matt beaudry, the verdict was vindication. He looks like a smug killer. And a jury of his peers listened to all the evidence and with that weighty choice decided that he was. Im satisfied with that. Reporter chris wright is serving a sentence of 15 to life. He is preparing an appeal, hoping for a new trial. And david novak . Hes not been charged with or accused by the police of anything. Though whether or not authorities want to talk to him is less clear. You know where he is . I dont know where he is, no. Reporter are your people trying to track him down . Well part of the rules im constrained by is i dont speak with ongoing investigations or the existence of ongoing investigations. Reporter but if Law Enforcement is mum about david novak, ken dolezsars widow is not. Mower has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against novak. A suit that alleges a third theory that novak paid chris wright 25,000 to kill ken dolezsar. Novak has yet to answer the suit, has not shown up for a theyve asked for a default judgment. Back in the loft, his friends imagine the worst about their former friend and neighbor, the missing david novak. What would you advise him to do if you could talk to him . Talk to you guys, tell the story. If you have nothing to hide. Refute me. Tell me why what im saying is not correct. We used to be friends. Im more than willing to hear what you have to say, david. Reporter so where is he . Turned out david novak wasnt so hard to find after all. In fact, here he is near his last known postloft address, an upscale neighborhood in a certain northwestern city. Didnt look like a man on the run. Just a guy getting a coffee with his wife at starbucks, of course. He just isnt answering calls or emails from his former loft friends. And he didnt want to talk to dateline, telling us over the phone he was not involved in kens murder, has been cleared by the police and anyone who says otherwise is a liar and liable to be sued. Bring it on, he said. So is chris wright a liar . Bianca an unwitting or perhaps willing accomplice . Some people are surprised that you stayed because you could go. I wouldnt leave a dog in christophers situation. I mean, you dont leave someone you never left when you loved them, you dont leave them. I will work until my dying day to make sure he is that his name is cleared. Yeah. Reporter wait for him as long as you have to . Yep. No problem. Reporter and out in suburban sandy, utah, the case still resonates around the shiny new courthouse. Where ada josh player struggled with his emotions a bit as he told us hes sure he did not send an innocent man to prison but rather achieved justice for everyone. I was glad for the family of the victim. Reporter you take this stuff to heart, dont you . I do. I do. Reporter and while they stand on opposite sides of that chasm between innocence and guilt, theres no dispute about the man whose life was lost. Ken dolezsar was a man who loved a woman, just as chris loved bianca, who loved hockey, loved helping kids and tried to do right by all that money, which is mostly still around, though he is not. Thats all for this edition of dateline