Page 37 - Michael Beard News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Not wanting to be home alone if he was there. you know, he -- he was civil. he was nice. but i'd -- i don't think she wanted to be left home alone. >> reporter: now, molly told investigators that her uncle tom had recently fired beard. >> michael beard was fired 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 gav...

The prosecutor knew he couldn't use beard to testify against tom. >> even if he came forward and said, "i want to testify now," he had lied so many times. he had lied at his own trial. >> beard had changed his story so much at his own trial that he wouldn't have been a credible witness. >> reporter: tom and his lawyer pounced on that, telling reporters that beard acted on his own. >> this is purely mr. beard's doing, what we do know is that mr. clayton had nothing to do with the death of his wife. >> reporter: and tom's lawyer didn't stop at michael beard. he went after the investigators. he s...

>> michael beard was fired 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 at 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 t...

Expecting to get from tom. $10,000. 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 had quickly arres...

A room that was filled with so much anxiety. >> reporter: the only one who didn't seem tense to the reporter was the defendant himself. he saw tom clayton smiling and kidding around with family members. his lawyer, though, was on the attack. he told the jury how investigators had immediately labeled tom a killer on the night of the murder. >> i think he attacked her. >> reporter: and the defense said investigators refused to change their minds even after it was clear michael beard was the one who beat kelley to death. >> the defense had basically alluded to the fact that there was a psychosis ...