He said, if anything ever happens to me, she did it. How many times did people say to you, shes got something to do with that murder . More than once. Reporter were detectives closing in on a killer . Are you guys looking at me or something . Reporter or a lie . What are we missin . What am i not figuring out . Thats all youre thinking about. Reporter a doublemurder that wasnt what it appeared to be. Liar. Conniver. Killer. Reporter im lester holt and this is dateline. Heres Josh Mankiewicz with the favorite son. If life is a journey, then life with the connells was a White Knuckle ride theyre crazy. [ laughter ] reporter rowdy, reckless combative. The family connell almost always fought harder with one other than with anyone else. Yeah, somebodys always upset with somebody. Reporter and then, eventually, it gets settled . Yeah. Reporter well not always, but well get to that. The connells are brought to you by wilmington, delaware. A hardworking city where generations of families fought for the good life. The connell family built a Beautiful House on five acres. Where the boys found lots of ways to get in trouble. Joe was crazy. I mean theres pictures of him jumping cliffs, drivin through rivers. Reporter mom and dad split up when the kids were almost grown. John was the oldest. Kelly was the baby. And right in the middle was joey. Gifted, funny, and john says, a piece of work. He was the life of the party um, always kind of a loud ob obnoxious types of a person. Reporter he was a loud, obnoxious guy, in a good way . Yeah. Oh, yeah, in a good way. He was really fun to be around. Reporter this is mickie, their mother. We came to understand an open secret in the connell clan that in moms eyes, joey could do no wrong. Reporter ive been told that of all your kids, joe was your favorite. Who said that . Reporter all your other kids. They do that. Reporter true . Well, no. I i dont wanna say that. Dont get me started. So what . Reporter he was your favorite. Okay, okay. Reporter because . He had a special personality that was always happy, always inquisitive, always teasing me. He was always teasing me. Reporter joey connell was doing well as the coowner of a Small Business called c and s auto. And then life went from good to great when he found olga, a russian woman from siberia. He met her online, and his mom had no problem with that. In fact she loves talking how she met olga. The door opens and i see joeys face and he goes, mom, ive got somebody that for you to meet. Well, poor little olga. She was so shy. She she kind of looked around the door. And joey kept saying, come on in, come on in. Shes going, okay. And she came in. She started talking to us and it was really nice. You could tell she was such a sweet person. Reporter mickie couldnt have been happier when her joey decided to marry olga. The only thing missing was a diamond ring. And that became the doorway to the connell family feud. Reporter tell me about that ring. Oh, i did something. And um im not sorry i did it. Okay, when reporter okay. Let me let me see if i got the details of this correct. Okay. Reporter okay . Yeah. Reporter your former husband gave you a ring yeah. Reporter at one point yes. Reporter which you then passed on to kelly, thinking maybe shed wear it when she got married. Yes. Reporter again, thats kelly joeys little sister. And then when joeys gonna marry olga, you want that ring back . Yeah. Reporter but instead of asking kelly for the ring back, you just go over to her house and take it. I asked her if i could wear the ring. I said, kelly, can i wear that ring . Im going to mexico with jerry reporter jerry is mickies new husband. She said, okay. Reporter actually, the ring wouldnt be going on any vacation. Mickie gave it to joey. He took out the diamonds and had them made into his brides shiny new Engagement Ring. Mickie knew kelly wasnt gonna like that. I said, shes gonna have a fit when she finds out. Joey said, well, mom, ill go get some zir zircon . Zircons . How do you say it . Reporter zirconia. Yeah. Put in and maybe she wont know. I said i said, okay. So we did that. Reporter thats right they swapped out the diamonds for cubic zirconia. I returned the ring. Reporter the phony ring. Yeah, and joey got the diamonds. So reporter uh, wait a minute. How can you do that to your daughter . Because i know she didnt need it. Reporter you can probably guess what happened next. Kelly figured it out. And when she did she was not happy. Not at all. Reporter she felt kinda betrayed i think. Well, joey needed it. Reporter hes more important. Well, at that particular time he needed the ring. And i was sorry i had given it to kelly, because if i still had it there wouldnt have been a problem. Reporter problem is putting it mildly. See, olga had no idea the diamonds in her stunning Engagement Ring had belonged to kelly. Until kelly sent her a nasty text right in the middle of olgas private wedding with joey in the virgin islands. And saying, i know where your nice, new ring came from . Yeah basically, it started getting really nasty. Reporter johns wife stephanie remembers it well. It just upset joe so much because it upset olga. And hes he was so protective of her. She, like, crossed the line when she did that. Reporter joey then sent kelly a blistering text of his own and the nasty back and forth continued and pretty soon the wedding day was ruined. As soon as he got home from his honeymoon, he was callin you telling you all about it, he was so upset. He was screaming at the top of his lungs to everybody. Reporter you guys try to mediate this at all . When joe was upset, you really couldnt calm him down. He was upset he was gonna be upset for a while. Reporter and that was not the end of it. Not even close. The feud went nuclear a few weeks later when someone broke into joey and olgas apartment and stole a lot of olgas jewelry. Not the Engagement Ring, but precious stuff that included some heirlooms from olgas late mother. Joey just knew who was responsible. He made that quite clear to officer Kelly Richards when she responded to the burglary call. Joe was angry. To him the burglary was personal. Reporter joe said it was his sister kelly she was behind it. Of that he was certain. And olga was beside herself. She was very emotional at the time and very upset. I had gotten a chance to sit with her for a few minutes, and attempting my best to make a bad situation a little bit better. Reporter there seemed to be no getting over this. Because now olga had been wounded in the war between the connells. His reaction to the burglary i think more than anything was that he was angry that she was so hurt, you know . Reporter detectives questioned kelly and her boyfriend and launched an investigation. In my line of work, i see family disagreements sometimes turn into something much worse. Mmhmm. Reporter either of you ever worry that this was gonna go so far that it couldnt be brought back to normal . Not at that point, no. Reporter thats the backdrop for what came next. It was late on a september night when the calls started coming into the New Castle CountyPolice Department. My neighbor is laying on the ground. Shes, uh, hurt. She has blood all over her body. Reporter a young woman had been shot multiple times right outside her home. Even the witnesses could tell she wasnt likely to survive. A violent attack. Who was the shooter and who was the target . When we return it looked like an execution to me. How many shots fired . In excess of 20. Reporter and not far away hidden under some bushes, another horrifying discovery. One of my fellow officers let me know, hey, richards, we have a second body. Needles. Essential for vinyl, but maybe not for people with rheumatoid arthritis. Because there are options. Like an unjection™. Xeljanz xr. A once daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well. Xeljanz xr can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. Xeljanz xr can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. Serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma and other cancers have happened. Dont start xeljanz xr if you have an infection. Tears in the stomach or intestines, low blood cell counts and higher liver tests and cholesterol levels have happened. Your doctor should perform blood tests before you start and while taking xeljanz xr, and monitor certain liver tests. Tell your doctor if you were in a region where fungal infections are common and if you have had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. 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Shes just laying there now . Yeah, shes laying on the ground. Reporter corporal Kelly Richards the same officer whod responded to joey and olga connells burglary was among the first on the scene. On the night of the shooting, when the call came in, i was working in the area. I was very close by and i was able to respond out very quickly. Reporter paramedics were already there. T012 and the first thing that i noted is that they were working on a females body that was laying right here on the ground. I ran down and i noticed that she was still alive at the time that i had arrived. Reporter Corporal Richards made some basic and important observations. Gunshot wound to the cheek. She was bleeding very heavily from the back of her head. She was dressed very nice. She had jewelry on. And i noticed that i knew i knew who this person was. Reporter richards realized shed come full circle. Shed spoken with this woman, even tried to comfort her a few weeks earlier right here at the paladin club condos. The woman bleeding out in front of her was olga connell. Richards stopped to relay the id to Police Headquarters and when i came back down, one of my fellow officers that was on the scene with me let me know, hey, richards, we have a second body. Reporter there were tall, heavy bushes along the front of the Building Back then. And underneath them a mans body shot in the back of the head. He was face down on the ground. Um he had his head resting like this in his um in his arm. And his right hand was laid out in front of him, holding his cell phone. Reporter she leaned over and took a closer look. I recognized and noted him to be Joseph Connell olgas husband. Reporter joey connell was already dead. By then olga was in an ambulance. She died on the way to the hospital. The distraught couple who had spoken with Corporal Richards just weeks before who blamed a sister for stealing some precious heirlooms, had been murdered together in a hail of bullets right in front of their home. Prosecutor Colleen Norris arrived at the scene a few hours later. It looked like an execution to me. Reporter olgas ring was still on her hand. Her keys were sticking out of the lock on the front door. Just seemed like it was a very purposeful killing. How many shots fired . In excess of 20, i think. Close to 25 shots. From two two different types of ammunition. Reporter lead detective Jamie Leonard said witnesses had seen little but heard plenty. They heard two different types of gunfire. And then another caller who had indicated that he had heard two male voices outside, and a scuffle. Reporter by morning, detective leonard had a clearer picture of how the killings unfolded. It was two gunmen he said who were lying in wait for joe and olga as they returned from a night out. So they park their car for the night up the sidewalk here, come walkin down, begin to walk up to their front door. Olga makes it to the front door. Reporter the detective believed olgas killer was hiding in the bushes to the right of the door. Thats when the attack happens . Absolutely. Exactly at that point in time. She gets her keys into the front door. The second shooter he believes was waiting in a car. So when he gets out of the car its simultaneous to when this other guy is is engaging olga. Reporter joes attacker was armed with 9 mm rounds. The spent shell casings told the story. Joe runs to that corner. By the time joe gets to that corner, hes taken probably three nonfatal gunshot wounds all to his lower torso. He gets behind that tree, gets tripped up on this guidewire. He gets bludgeoned. And then that person shoots joe four times in the back of the head. Reporter a team of assassins. What are you thinking at this point . Well, at this point the only thing i really had to base any theory that i may have is is this strife within their family tempers flare and and people make decisions or i mean, whether they be thought out or whether they be snap decisions, that result in things like what happened to joe and olga. Reporter as detectives would later learn the murders of joe and olga connell were anything but a snap decision. Coming up chilling words from joey before he died. He said, if anything ever happens to me, kelly did it. Reporter and kelly is feeling a chill of her own. Are you guys looking at me or something . Reporter when dateline continues. Now make sure theres bows lets go whoo preseeeeeents reload but we didnt get you anything. woman whoa, whoa, whoa. You do realize everyone wins . Presents for them, kohls cash for you announcer kohls. Give joy. Get joy. Lookin at the new mcpick 2 for 5. Going for savory, juicy, and crispy. Its goooddddd choose two Fan Favorites on the mcpick 2 for 5 dollars menu. [crowd cheering] the guy who switched to sprint. They Just Announced that their unlimited plan now comes with hulu. I get unlimited access to the shows everyone is talking about. Thats tv that works for me. vo unlimited now with hulu. For people with hearing loss, 4 lines for 25 per month and the 5th line free. Visit sprintrelay. Com doctor. Doctor. I played a doctor on tv, but now im helping save lives for real. Starting with my own. Im partnering with Cigna Healthspring to remind everyone how important Preventive Care is for people my age. See anything, doctor . Looks great, doctor. And with Cigna Healthspring medicare advantage, you get a team of doctors overseeing your health. Most Preventive Services are covered. So go, know, and take control of your health. Oh. Use mine, doctor. Cigna healthspring. Together, all the way. Reporter it was sunday morning. The murders of joey and olga connell were only a few hours old, and the rest of the he and another friend had just driven by to pick up joey for a trip to the mountains, and found themselves entering a crime scene. There was yellow tape and police cars and ambulances. They told a Police Officer they were looking for joe connell. And, he said, well, i cant talk to you now, but youre gonna have to follow me down to the station and answer some questions. Reporter jay had known joey and his family since they were kids. And, at that point, we definitely knew it wasnt good. Reporter jay says he had a growing sense of dread as he answered questions about joe and olga. They finally let us know that he and olga had died, and it was a total shock. Reporter jay called a friend, who reached out to the family. Police were already talking with mickie, who remembers very little of that conversation. How do you say it when youre like a zombie . Um, i was like, i heard it, i believed it. I was like in a state of mind that i cant quite describe. Whatd police ask you . I dont remember. Well, im guessing one of the first things police asked you was who had it in for your son and daughterinlaw . I dont remember what they asked me. I really dont. Reporter police recorded that death notification with mickie and her husband jerry. And as youll hear, just six minutes after they broke the news, police did indeed ask. Is there anybody that might want to hurt him, maam . I dont know. Does he complain about having problems with anyone . Jerry, you tell them about the robbery. Oh, no. Uh, somebody broke into their house. No, no, no, no. Broke into their house . How long ago was that . About a month a month and a half. Did they report it to the police . Yes. Reporter and it was right about then that kelly, a suspect in that burglary, walked up the driveway with her brother john and his family. And then we saw kelly come, and she was behind them. And when she got halfway up the driveway, she just fell down on the ground crying and crying and i had to pick her up. Reporter on that same police tape, kelly sounds hysterical. And now hes dead. We were fighting, and he wasnt talking to me. Reporter most of the family went down to the police station, where the ring, the feud, and the burglary came up in separate discussions with detectives. Prosecutor Colleen Norris was involved in the investigation from the start. There had been a lot of discussion and interviews that kelly was a suspect in that burglary, and that perhaps the murder had something to do with that burglary. And so that was you get pointed at Kelly Connell, basically, that night. Absolutely. Right away, yeah. Reporter in fact, it was joey connell himself who was pointing the finger at kelly. Their brother john remembers joeys chilling words. He said, if anything ever happens to me, kelly did it. If anything ever happens, make sure you go to kelly first. Reporter so they did. Detective Justin Breslin of the New Castle CountyPolice Department conducted the first of seve