Page 35 - Michael Beard News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Why wouldn't you kill the person that you're disgruntled against? i mean, "i'm -- i'm angry at you, so i'm going to go kill your wife." >> reporter: but as a matter of procedure, the investigator asked beard for a dna swab and permission to look through his cell phone. >> he was very, very forthcoming. very willing, no problems. just very cooperative. >> reporter: while the state investigator was checking out the not-so-promising michael beard tip, sheriff's investigators had tom down at the station. detective donnie lewis said they still had questions. >> reporter: for the most part, it looks...

A big payment bearwas expecting to get from tom. 0,0. the investigators confronted beard. >> at that point, he was just defeated. i looked at him and said, "$10,000, is that why you killed kelley?" and he looked at me and said, "yes." >> this was your big moment? >> that was the -- that was the win. >> reporter: michael beard was arrested for murder. and tom, already in custody, was now accused of orchestrating the crime. but tom's newly-hired defense attorney wasn't having it. >> he wants to be reunited with his children. he frankly is grieving the loss of his wife. >> reporter: investigators...

Recognize. investigator donnie lewis took it from there. >> so what i did was i got the famber and put it into actually on my phone, anas soon as i put that phone number in there the profile that ps up is michael beard. >> reporter: 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 ...

>> i kind of, like, looked at my mom. and i was like, "yeah." >> 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 lun...

Killed kelley in the process. >> reporter: the prosecution said that was nonsense. michael beard had no reason to murder kelley unless he was sent there by the defendant, tom clayton. the state called linda miller to testify. she recounted how tom borrowed her phone and then deleted the number he'd dialed, never dreaming she'd do her own detective work. >> you really connected the dots. to get the police to this moment. >> yeah. >> she did good. >> if you can call it good. >> reporter: finally, the prosecutor said he knew why tom wanted his wife dead. he called kelley's niece mollie to the sta...