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Sometimes you grow apart. i didn't want that. that's what we were going to work towards. >> reporter: one of the things they said, they reviewed it, there were human factors. >> human factors. that's the best they can come up with. >> reporter: two months after the shooting and one day before their 21st wedding anniversary, colonel michael stallman died. he was buried at arlington national cemetery, eulogized by colleagues in iraq. >> mike never got flustered, and always managed to stay ahead. he was always in control and seemingly couldn't be shaken. it makes what happened in july all the mor...

He felt was his duty. he wanted to do it. >> were you worried? >> not at all. that's what's surprising. >> reporter: in january, 2008, colonel stallman left for iraq, joining the rule of law unit, investigating fraud and corruption. both iraqi and american. according to ncis, the day of the shooting, july 31st, stallman woke especially early for his usual pre-dawn running, training for an upcoming triathlon. a month from coming home for r and r to celebrate his daughter's birthday and take an 11-year-old to a water park. he wrote kim, everything is great. just ready for a break and time with y...

Who was well liked and that his demeanor appeared to be the same as it always was. computer records show stallman checked on a letter of recommendation he had been writing, also sent what would be his last e-mail. >> what did that e-mail say? >> kim, sorry for what you are about to find out. i love you and always will. you and the girls are the most important thing to me, love mike. that's what it said. >> what did that suggest to you? >> i immediately thought oh no, one of our friends is dead. >> reporter: kim says the message is a common military warning. ncis says it was a suicide note. >> ...

Stallman is one of them? >> yes, it is. >> reporter: michael maloney reconstructed the crime scene frame by frame. found too many things that forensically didn't add up. >> all these things that we're talking about now are indicative of staging. >> reporter: he says the bullet wound suggests stallman was not laying down as the report concluded but getting up, his head turned away when the fatal shot was fired. >> that puts his head in this position when he received -- >> blood would have gone up. >> reporter: it is called back spatter. the exit wound, blood would have gone into the pillow and ...

Him complicated their investigation. he would spend the next two months in a hospital. >> they assumed it was a suicide from day one. >> reporter: retired military jag lawyer worked with stallman, when kim reached out, he agreed to review the case. >> my initial reaction was sort of it is a grieving widow, she doesn't want to accept the truth. >> reporter: as he reviewed the ncis report, his opinion changed. the bullet had fractured his skull, causing multiple traumatic brain injuries. >> when first people responded to mike and found him, the nine millimeter weapon was tucked under his waist o...