Page 33 - Michael Beard News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Michael beard, the ex-employee who'd been so cooperative with investigators. suddenly, he didn't seem so innocent. now police had to reconsider their theory of the crime. maybe it wasn't tom who'd beaten kelley to death. maybe his daughter's description of the killer was wrong. maybe it was michael beard she saw. >> this phone call, this is, like, the key. this is it. >> that's the first real connection that we had that put beard anything to do with the murder. that kind of just alerted us right off the bat as we need to go talk to michael beard again. >> he denied any type of involvement. he ...

And he's, like, partially crying and he's saying, you know, i wouldn't do that. >> reporter: months went by as the state prepared the case against each man. michael beard was the first to go to trial. in court, he recanted his confession and changed his account of the murder. but prosecutor weeden wetmore said evidence put beard at the crime scene. >> his dna was found where she had fled after being struck in the head with the murder weapon. >> reporter: it took jurors only seven hours to convict him. >> a jury finds michael beard guilty of what the prosecution is calling a murder for hire sch...

>> reporter: molly, only 16 at the time, told police she'd spent the summer working for her uncle at his restoration business, servpro. and there she met one of his employees. a man named michael beard. tom told her to keep her distance. >> he never really wanted me around michael beard. he didn't want me, like, working with him. >> reporter: michael beard was no stranger to the family. >> he actually had done work at my sister's home. my sister would give his daughter charlie's hand-me-downs, clothes, toys. my sister would make lunch for him when he was there working at her home. >> reporter:...

September 17th. and then kelley was murdered the, like, night of the 28th, 29th. so it wasn't long at all. >> reporter: was it possible that beard was angry about losing his job and that kelley's murder was some kind of revenge? molly went through her cell phone and her facebook contacts and gave investigators beard's address. >> i gave that to them. and they were just like, "okay, thank you." >> reporter: the steuben county sheriff's office needed all hands on deck and called in the new york state police for assistance. >> i was contacted by investigators the day of the homicide. >> reporter:...

Hands. you couldn't even use the confession from michael beard. so, there were a lot of things you didn't have. >> right, but if you look at thomas clayton's conduct, he never mentioned michael beard. everybody says, "michael beard should be an immediate suspect." he never mentioned michael beard to the police. to me, that's -- there's a reason for that. >> reporter: as they prepared for trial, investigators kept digging. they discovered a flurry of calls and texts in the weeks leading up to the crime. >> clayton was contacting beard, saying, "hey, we have to meet. he was getting him a bicycle...