He took the sweatshirt and wrapped it around her neck. But could she be believed . I was sleeping around. I think i slept with half the town. Was she out for justice or revenge . Is it a Perfect World . No. Will she get hers . Yes. When she dies. What was the lie, and what was the truth . How could you miss it . He wasnt there im lester holt, and this is dateline. Heres Andrea Canning with secrets lies. Reporter on a frigid december morning in 2008, in a tiny picturesque town along the banks of the delaware, a tragedy unfolded. 911. What is your emergency . The whole house is on fire. Reporter a deadly blaze burned a small Country House to the ground. And left behind in the ashes were secrets. Love gone wrong, illicit affairs, friends turning against each other. It would take years to unravel the mystery of that fire, haunting this town. And those who loved the couple who once lived in that house, paul and Catherine Novak. The novaks had both grown up as city kids. Paul was a new york city paramedic, a job that seemed the perfect fit. I wanted to be that person that would show up that would help my parents, help my sister if she was in a car accident or Something Like that. Reporter but he also saw the dark side of city life. A little too close to home. I would do shootings and stabbings two blocks away from my apartment, and i always thought to myself that i could just never raise a child in this area. Reporter so in 2002 paul and his wife, catherine, went house hunting in narrowsburg, new york, a small hamlet tucked between the catskill and pocono mountains. They didnt need to look for long. It was the big red house as she called it. And she would talk about the big red house all the time. Reporter catherines brother michael and sisterinlaw joanne said she worked hard to make the big red house a home. Growing up, we lived in apartments. You know, this was a space of her own. Yeah, she was thrilled to have five acres or ten acres of property, and she loved it there. Reporter the Perfect Place for the perfectly matched couple. They seemed meant for each other right from the start. I liked her from the first moment i met her. She was very effervescent and very funny and very opinionated, and i really liked that in her. So you really saw into the future the first time you saw her. Yes. I mean, we ended up getting married i think seven months later. Reporter two years after that their first child, natalie, was born. It was very special. Reporter catherines mom, christina, was ever the proud grandmother. Natalie looks so much like her mom. So much like her mom. What was it like the first time you laid eyes on your new daughter . Natalie. It was like falling in love like a thousand times more than you have with any other person. Natalies just you know, shes a part of me. Reporter four years later along came nicholas. She was in her glory. And then you know, to have a boy and a girl, which was good. Things were all coming together. Yep. She got directly engaged in the community, in the church. She taught sunday school. She became a girl scout leader. The school board. She did many, many things. And she did almost all of it by herself. Paul was still working as a paramedic in new york city, more than 100 miles away. Thats a big commitment. This is pretty far from the city. Its a twohour drive. I was making the new york city money but living up here. And the sacrifice was that i couldnt be home every night. And that, they soon discovered, can be tough on a marriage. We went to counciling for about year. And she just felt that she never got a break you know, from being a fulltime mom. Reporter but they were both committed to making their marriage work. On their tenth wedding anniversary, valentines day, paul surprised catherine with a ceremony to renew their vows. Now, im not a churchgoing type. So for me to do that is a big thing. I planned a little, you know, couple of day getaway, and she was really taken by surprise by that. And things were good for a couple of months after that. Reporter it wasnt enough. The glow of that getaway faded and life became routine again. Soon pauls eyes wandered to a much younger woman, someone from work. They had an affair, and paul moved out, leaving catherine and the kids alone in the house. She was beside herself. She was absolutely hysterical. Reporter catherines good friend and neighbor, sue muller, remembered when the marriage ended. She couldnt even get her breath, she was sobbing so hard. Reporter but catherines family, who considered her the eternal optimist, watched her move on with her life, pouring all her love and attention into her children. She was very focused on them. Very engaged in their lives. Did everything with them. Sounds like thats what was important in her life anyway. Absolutely. Reporter she was working at her Childrens School and had even been on a few dates. Catherine was creating a life without paul. Then in december 2008, sometime in the Early Morning hours, somewhere in her house, a fire started. The house is totally on fire. Its on fire. Reporter when firefighters arrived, the big red house was a wall of flames. They had no idea if anyone was still inside. Does anyone live there . Yes, yes, there are kids. Do you know if theyre out of the house . I dont know. Reporter neighbors knew paul wasnt there. He was living in an apartment three hours away with his new girlfriend. That morning he got a call from catherines pastor. Picked it up and it was pastor phyllis and she goes, where are the kids . Where are the kids . And im like theyre with me. Whats going on . She goes, the house is on fire. Reporter firefighters worked for hours dousing the flames. Catherines friend sue muller arrived and the fire was still raging. She stood vigil for hours, waiting to hear news of her friend. All of the sudden the firemen were all concentrated in one area, looking down into the basement, and then the local funeral home was there with the body bag. And i saw them bring the body bag down into the basement. Reporter in the destruction and muck of the basement, under massive pieces of what had been the house, firefighters found the remains of the family dog. And to their horror, the body of 41yearold Catherine Novak. Oh, no. Oh, no. It cant be. And i think it takes a while to grasp that death is forever. What did you think when you heard that news . I was just a blank. A complete blank. What on earth am i going to tell these children . How am i going to tell them . She was a great mom. I didnt know how i was going to be able to even try to fill that void. Reporter the autopsy report said she was killed when heavy debris fell on her. Catherines death was officially ruled accidental. She lived a very courageous life. She knew what she wanted. She went after it. She was very bold in the things she did. Reporter a tragic end to a life that held so much promise. But as youve probably guessed, the story didnt end there. For investigators it was just the beginning. Not everyone believed this was an accident. If it wasnt an accident, was it murder . It certainly didnt look that way, until a second autopsy report came back. We knew she did not die in the fire. She died before the fire. He goes, we want you to take a polygraph test. Different. Who knew . I had no idea. So, she said look for. One thats shaped like a dental tool with a round. Brush head. Go pro with oralb. Oralbs rounded brush head surrounds each tooth to. Gently remove more plaque and. Oralb crossaction is clinically proven to. Remove more plaque than sonicare diamondclean. My mouth feels so clean. Ill only use an oralb the 1 brand used by dentists worldwide. Oralb. Brush like a pro. whispering dad trust me, we are going viral. 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Reporter the pathologist ruled catherines death an accident, but investigators werent so sure. They turned to District Attorney steve lungen to take a closer look. So you were contacted despite this talk it was an accident. Yes. We had a fire and we had a death. The question of how the two of those items were going to come together would not play out for a couple days later and actually years later. Reporter the police, as they often do, began by interviewing catherines soon to be exhusband paul novak. What happened in the interview as far as the way they treated you, the questions they were nice. They asked about catherines last known whereabouts, if she had any boyfriends, any utilities in the house that may have had a problem, anything like that. Reporter the interview was all very routine but the investigation at the scene was not. Fire inspectors couldnt figure out what ignited the blaze. They checked the wiring, the appliances, the pellet stove, the propane tanks. Nothing conclusive. But then things changed. The d. A. Brought in a specialist, a forensic pathologist, to do a second autopsy a few days later. And the results this time told a different story. We knew she did not die in that fire, she died before the fire. Reporter the second pathologist discovered there was no Carbon Monoxide in catherines blood or soot in her lungs, which meant catherine had stopped breathing before the fire started. She changed the manner of death from accidental to pending investigation. The question is what else can we gain or learn before we can start to classify this as a homicide . Who do you look to as the suspect . The state police had done some initial interviews. Obviously, the spouse is the first person you look to. The spouse had a clear alibi. Reporter paul and his new girlfriend, michelle la france, said they were far from catherines beloved red house when the fire broke out. A threehour drive away in their apartment on long island. Still, investigators didnt just take the couples word for it. They made a request. He goes, we want you to take a polygraph test. Did you feel like you were almost in a tv show at this point . Yes. It felt like law order, a really bad episode of it. When did you get the results . He came back about 15 minutes later and he said okay, youre all done, you passed. He was driving home from the interrogation, and he was hysterical. Reporter pauls sister, ilona, had never heard him so emotional. He was crying and saying they asked me if i killed her. He just found it so unbelievable that he was being asked these questions. Reporter so if it wasnt paul, investigators needed to look for other suspects. The state police did a complete canvass of the area, anybody who had any connection to Catherine Novak, the state police reviewed, found, interviewed. Reporter but after many months and no leads, investigators hit a dead end. The case turned cold. None of that mattered much to catherines mom. I still miss my daughter the same. I miss her, no matter what happened to her. I miss her. Reporter seven months after catherines death paul and his girlfriend packed up the kids and their apartment on long island and moved 1,000 miles south to florida. I figured with my experience that it would probably be pretty easy for me to get a job somewhere. Kind of a fresh start . A fresh start. I thought it would be good for the kids. Great school, nice neighborhood. Reporter but paul said not long after their move things with michelle started to sour. When they first met, she was a paramedic in training. He was her teacher, her friend. She had confided in him about her history of mental illness, long bouts of depression and alcohol abuse. But now he says her problems were beginning to take a toll on their relationship. His young daughter, a sore spot. She was very jealous of natalie. And her mental issues definitely became more apparent as time went on. At one point she actually threatened to commit suicide inside my own house. Reporter this was no surprise to ilona and her mom, who loved catherine but never approved of michelle. What are your First Impressions of michelle . I didnt like her. Why . She walked into my mothers house and she immediately wanted catherines pictures turned around because she felt like catherine was looking at her. Reporter paul said it took him a bit longer than his family to realize he and michelle were not the best match. They had been together for three years. When he found out she was cheating on him with a married man. He didnt want to stand for that. So he had to ask her to leave. And he did it very nicely. And she didnt want to go. Reporter in what paul described as a bitter breakup, he forced michelle to move out and told her it was over. By that time it had been more than two years since catherines death. Investigators back in new york had moved on to other cases. The years were ticking by with no new leads. But the d. A. Was a patient man. We never put the file away. It was always a matter of when something is going to come forward well be ready to go forward. We never accepted an accidental cause of death, ever. Reporter his patience would be rewarded. A break in this cold case was coming, and it would surprise everyone. Coming up a surprise knock at paul novaks door. My girlfriend comes in, and she goes, theres something fishy going on outside. Theres two Police Detectives outside and they want to talk to you about your car being involved in a hit and run. Is that what they really wanted . Years had passed since Catherine Novaks body had been discovered among the blackened ruins of her big red house. But the passage of time didnt make it any easier for her mother. Its the thing that never happens to you, it always happens to someone else. It doesnt happen to you. You dont lose a child like that, in such a horrible way, a fire. Reporter catherines brother michael and his wife, joanne, had stopped asking questions, choosing instead to accept they might never really know what happened to her. To take catherines perspective, she would look for the positive side, the good things, and she would want us to move on. And you know, thats what we tried to do. We made our peace with it, and we went on living. Reporter but as time went by in the little town of narrowsburg, dark suspicions were whispered from neighbor to neighbor, and one name kept coming up. Catherines estranged husband, paul novak. Her close friend, sue muller. I was angry as time went on, and i thought more and more about it and i thought that paul might somehow be involved. Reporter as she looked back, she was particularly haunted by the way paul acted the day of catherines memorial service. The whole congregation were sobbing so loud. I mean, the pastor couldnt even finish her sermon. And i went up to him, and i hugged him. I kind of was struck by how he really showed no emotion. After 11 years of marriage that she might have meant a little bit more to him, that he might shed a tear. But i didnt see any. Reporter but there was no evidence that paul had anything to do with catherines death. No dna or fingerprints at the crime scene. No witnesses. He had even passed a polygraph test. And he had an alibi for the morning of the fire. He was three hours away with his girlfriend, michel, in their apartment on long island. Paul continued to enjoy his new life in florida with his two children. Working again as a paramedic and now dating a new woman hed fallen for quickly on match. Com, kat del grasso. We started texting and then we made a date, and we went on a date. Really that was it. It was instant . Instant. Instant. What was the attraction . I dont know. Its really hard to put your finger on Something Like that. We just seemed to have an immediate connection. There was zero stress talking. No uncomfortableness. Reporter their romance blossomed, and she eventually moved in with paul and his kids. Do they look up to him . They worship him. They completely worship him. Hes always up with them, checking homework. We do a lot of things as a family. Is it a nice life . Mmhmm. We were really happy. Really, really happy. And then you get a knock at the door. Yep. Yeah. That was a tough day. Reporter it was an Early Morning in september 2012. Four years after catherines death. I was asleep. I just got off of work. I worked 12 hours at the hospital. And i remember my girlfriend comes in and she goes, theres something fishy going on outside. Theres two Police Detectives outside and they want to talk to you about your car being involved in a hit and run. Reporter but when he arrived at the Police Station he saw a familiar face and realized this had nothing to do with a car accident. This is investigator kelly from new york. So im like, okay. So he sits down, he grabs a chair and hes like a foot away from me. And then i remember him. Hes the guy that grilled me, the one that got my face. How are you feeling . Oh, my gosh. These people