Death at Cottonwood Creek | Full Episode | Forensic Files

It was a very stressful situation. Very emotional at times. And an emotional trial.
From start to finish. >> He's a very prominent businessman, very successful. Generally to get in that kind of a
position, you you have a pretty big ego. >> We had a camera, we started taking photos. She took a few of
me, I took some of her. >> Leslie Muller took a fall and drowned. How that happened,
no one knows except Fred Muller. >> You cannot fall that far without serious, serious injuries.
>> It's like it just happened in slow motion in front of me. She falls like she just dove.
>> Fred had a great story. >> I'm screaming her name, I'm hollering. She's moving with the current. I can't
really see where I can get to her. >> I mean, he had details and drama and action.
>> The defendant has asked people to believe what is impossible. >> I mean, there were so many
inconsistencies in his story. I don't know if they just thought that we were going to be a bunch of ignorant
Hicks. >> There's no proof someone's going to murder somebody. They're going to have a reason.
>> We don't know these 12 people. They don't know us. They don't know my dad. He would have never hurt my mother in
any way. >> During jury selection, we kind of heard that oh, you know, he's got a new wife.
And it's like oh, the aha. >> She basically rescued me from the pits of despair after Leslie died.
>> I will tell you why I fell in love with Fred. His honesty, his integrity, his
trustworthiness. There are 12 people in a room somewhere deciding my husband's fate.
>> It was uh incredibly stressful. >> It's tough. They were there. They stared at us, you
know, day after day. >> I think it was a lie. I think Fred Mueller is a master of
deception. >> When I saw that photograph of Fred's face a moments before the accident,
I told myself he didn't kill her. >> Just because you don't find something doesn't mean it's not there.
>> Amid the majestic mountains of Colorado and the landscape surrounding the family
vacation house, Leslie Mueller found her sanctuary. >> It was a beautiful house with some
beautiful land around it. >> Bob Burton knew the Mollers. He's the former undersheriff here in Hinsdale
County. >> The people in town would talk about her and how excited she was when she was up
here and how exuberant and she loved to take advantage of everything that was up
here. >> Leslie came here to the town of Lake City each summer to ride horses and at
Christmas to ski. With Fred, her husband of 27 years, and their three children, Alex entering the Naval Academy, Ariel
working for a Dallas bank, and Amanda, who works in the oil and gas industry. Fred and Leslie had married young. He
was 19 and she was 20. A deeply religious woman, she became a pioneering doctor in their hometown of San Angelo,
Texas, the first female OBGYN in the area. >> They are very, very affectionate to each
other. They were the type of couple that you kind of feel uncomfortable cuz they're all over each other.
>> Even on the rare occasions they didn't see eye to eye, the disagreements didn't
last, says daughter Ariel. >> And that's why they had such a great marriage cuz they never
harbored any grudges against each other. >> The Mollers seemed to have it all. Three
successful children, a big home in San Angelo, Texas, filled with a lifetime of family memories.
And Fred owns a thriving metals business in town. They are a proud family going back
generations in the community. But what happened here in the deep mountain woods on May 3rd, 2008,
in this creek filled with rushing water, changed their lives forever. That Saturday started out happily.
>> It was a wonderful day. We basically spent the whole day, us three together. >> They went to church.
Afterwards, Fred and Alex did some work around the house. And then, Fred and Leslie decided to go for a hike.
>> They were urging me to come along with them. >> Your dad, too? >> Yes, both. >> And they're even pressing me saying,
"Well, come on, it'll be fun. We'll see the waterfall." And at that point, I was
pretty wore out cuz I mean, I had I worked all morning. And so, they decided to just make it a date.
>> That date would soon take a tragic turn. Burden was one of the first law enforcement officers on the scene. And
Mueller described to him what had happened. >> You can hear the creek in the distance.
We're getting closer and closer. Fred led us right down to the edge of Cottonwood Creek. Beautiful waterfall
down here. And said he was coming down here with his wife to start taking pictures.
Just to this ledge. Little treacherous here, isn't it? The waterfall in the background was
really the point of interest they had in terms of the picture taking that day. And this particular area would have
still had some snow on it and potentially ice. >> This is one of the last photos taken of
Leslie Mueller before Fred says a bizarre turn of events was set in motion. >> He had her kneel just about where you
are. She was holding the dog. Now, this is where Fred tells me that as he took the picture, a bird flew
by. The bluebird appeared to startle the dog. And that as she was getting up, she
suddenly started going backwards. >> Fred described it himself to police the next day when they interviewed him on
audio tape. >> It's like this happened in slow motion in front of me. First, she falls just like she just
dove. And and lands was the rocks right by the water. >> The one he pointed to was that one
there's a little bit of water coming over the top. >> Right. Pretty big size rock.
>> Pretty big size rock. >> She just did a swan dive. Just like head and shoulders, and just
slides like mush into the channel. I'm screaming her name. I'm hollering. I don't know what I'm doing. And next
thing I know, she's out of sight, man. I can't really see where I can get to her.
She's just face down in the water, head first going downstream. >> Leslie's body was found wedged under
that tree that you can see behind me that goes across the creek. It's just 50 yards downstream from where Fred said
she fell in. Fred says he ran down the mountain trail for help, and rescuers trekked up the
river, eventually finding Leslie's body here. It appeared to be a terrible, tragic
accident. >> I know she's in a better place, and I know that Jesus is with our family. And
so, I had to keep it together for for my dad, for for my mom, still. >> But the family has had a big problem
putting it all behind them. Because as police scrutinized Fred's story of what happened, they weren't at all sure that
it was true. >> Fred Muller says all that occurred here was one horrific accident.
>> I say it was not an accident. I say it was a cold-blooded murder. >> When Leslie Muller's drowned body was
found wedged beneath this log in Cottonwood Creek. Investigators took Fred Muller at his word.
>> Initially, we have every reason to believe it was an accident. >> But it wasn't long before Fred's
eyewitness account of what happened raised some troubling questions. >> Each time
we would talk to him, the red flags kept being waved. >> According to Fred, Leslie fell from that
cliff about 20 ft, but somehow didn't land in this rocky area that's about 6-ft wide. Instead, she somehow landed
out on this boulder and was swept away. >> He said, "I saw her hit with a sickening
thud. She was motionless." >> Hitting headfirst, body >> first, shoulder, and head.
>> Based on Fred's description, investigators expected to see major injuries to Leslie's body.
But her autopsy only added to the mystery. >> There was a significant absence of any
visible injury to any part of the body. You would expect to see broken bones. >> Which begged the question, had Leslie
really fallen from that cliff? Burden says the more Fred spoke, >> I didn't do anything. And and I'm not at
all afraid of the truth. >> the more his story sounded rehearsed. >> He hit me as if he was reading from a
recited script. >> He spontaneously said, "You know, I don't have any reason to kill my wife. I don't have any motive.
I don't have a girlfriend. We love each other very much. In fact, he told me they even had sex that day."
>> He was answering a question that hadn't even been asked. >> Hadn't been asked in advance of that. He
just blurted that out. >> Burden says Fred could suddenly become defensive, like when he started talking
about family insurance policies. >> We had a a big insurance policy on the two of us.
It was strictly for inheritance. So, why in the world would it have been a benefit to me for? The reality is if
there was no reason for my wife to die that benefited me. There's monetary benefit.
>> There are moments, Burden says, when Fred did sound like a man coping with the death of his wife.
>> I've already said the worst the worst thing I can think of in the world happened to me, and I just want to
go home. >> But it was what Burden saw on Fred's face, these scratches, that added to his
growing belief that a crime had taken place. >> His explanation was that there were some
bushes that probably scratched him. First of all, there weren't a lot of bushes there, and the type of scratches
you normally get from bushes are totally inconsistent with the the marks on his face.
>> Burden wondered, could Leslie have scratched Fred's face? And then, this clue, these glasses that
turned out to be Fred's, found just 15 ft from where Leslie had reportedly fallen.
>> I at this point had no idea as whose glasses they were. >> They were broken, and when an officer
asked if he was missing his glasses, Fred turned defensive once again. >> Once again.
You know, you're asking me how many times a day did I have sex, but you won't tell me if you found any damn glasses.
>> Well, we did find some glasses, but we don't know that they're yours. >> It's that kind of crap that makes me
think that you're not believing a word I'm telling you. So, I'm just sticking my head in a noose. You know, I didn't
do anything. >> He got so combative. At one point on the record, he said if you didn't have a badge gun,
I'd beat the [ __ ] out of you. That kind of shocked me. And he at that point raised maybe he
should be getting an attorney. >> And what did that suggest to you? >> At that moment, I felt that we had a
criminal homicide. >> Burden developed a theory of what happened on May 3rd, 2008.
>> The scenario that I put together is that when the picture was being taken, what was allegedly the last picture
before she fell in. He had gone forward towards her and tried to push her in. >> According to Burden's theory, Leslie was
fighting for her life. >> I'm thinking at that point, the scuffle continued in which the glasses were
ripped off and left pretty much where that rock is. >> This is when Burden believes Leslie
scratched Fred. >> I believe at that moment, she was able to break away, gain one, two seconds
maybe, and she fled down a path that paralleled the creek. >> Burden speculates that Fred chased after
her. >> He was probably one to two seconds behind her, and she ended up jumping into here.
And just right behind her was the husband. He jumps in, too. And drowns her in this pool area right
below it. It takes her body and just lodges it under that tree where the body was found.
>> What motive would Fred possibly have had to kill his wife? >> In in many cases, the motive is not as
clear as one would hope. What I believe in this case is that he was tired of her. I just I don't think
he hated her. Uh I just believe he was tired of her. >> Not a very strong motive for murder, and
that was one big problem for police trying to prove their suspicions. Fred's family says there's no motive
because there's no murder. >> There's not a doubt in my mind that he did not kill my mother. It was an
accident. >> And police didn't have enough evidence to charge him with a crime, so they let
Fred resume his life. For a while. >> Always tell him that I love him and that things are going to be okay and that
we're going to be here for him no matter what. >> Fred Mueller returned to his Texas home
to be with his three children just days after his wife Leslie drowned in this Colorado creek.
>> He may be a big guy, but he's very emotional and very soft-hearted and >> Fred's daughter, Ariel.
>> He's a big teddy bear. Yeah, he would have never hurt my mom. He would do anything to make her happy. He would do
anything to make us happy. >> A year passed. Then Fred reconnected with a long-time family friend, Wendy
Walker. The two began dating and were married in 2010. >> There are a number of photographs of
Leslie and the kids as they're growing up. She was a lovely person. He loved her very much. He lost her
too soon. And that's very, very sad. And it was very hard on him. I saw him in the
middle of all of that grief. >> This is Fred and Wendy's San Angelo home. Nearly 4 years had passed since
Leslie's death. Then, on February 6th, 2012, family members started getting phone
calls. >> I was still in high school at the time, and I was pulled out of class by my
principal. >> I'm not going to say it's the it was the worst phone call I'd ever had, cuz the
worst was on May 4th, 2008. It was the second worst phone call I'd ever had. >> The children were stunned to learn
Colorado authorities had arrested their father for the murder of their mom. Fred Mueller was to spend the next year
of his life in a Colorado jail awaiting trial. >> Have any of you ever had a moment of
doubt? >> I've not. >> No. >> No. >> Never. >> Never. >> Not for a moment. >> No.
>> If if you knew my dad, you wouldn't you wouldn't doubt either. >> You wouldn't lie for him in other words
in a situation like this. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. >> and he if there is if something else had
happened that day, he would have said so. >> Also, you have to understand that I mean
as much as he's non-violent, he's also you know, I mean his probably his second biggest trait is the fact that he
doesn't have a nefarious bone in his body. Like he's not the type to spin plots and cover things up.
>> In January 2013, Fred's murder trial got underway in Gunnison, Colorado, best
known for having the lowest average temperature in the continental US. Prosecutor Matthew Durkin.
>> Injuries are going to tell you a story that Leslie Muller was drowned by her husband.
>> Fred's lead defense attorney Mike DeGuerin. >> Don't be tricked into the situation
where the prosecution says we really don't know how it happened. You can't guess
somebody into the penitentiary in the United States. You can't speculate. You're not to come
up with a theory. Guard against that. >> For 4 weeks, the family, including Leslie's parents who support Fred, sat
and listened to prosecution witnesses. >> Do you solemnly swear or affirm? >> As did jurors Betty Haggart, an interior
designer, Janine MacElvaine, a park service supervisor, Brian Turner, another park service employee, and Drew
Zimmerman, an electrical engineer. >> It was one of the toughest things I've ever been involved in.
>> Prosecutors call experts who present a series of video recreations. >> I have dragged the mannequin back up and
we're going to drop it again in that down rushing waters. >> To test whether it was possible for
Leslie's body to have traveled down this winding creek to where she was found underneath this fallen tree.
>> I'm going to test how far we can advance that mannequin or if the mannequin will
flush. >> We obtained the mannequin in the the summer of '09. >> Investigator Jack Haynes used a
mannequin that was the exact height and weight of Leslie Muller. >> Each time he would drop it, the
mannequin would sink. It didn't go anywhere. >> Did the mannequin ever float downstream?
>> Never floated, never flushed anywhere. It It It just would stay at the bottom.
>> Then a woman investigator attempted the same journey. Water rescue expert Andrea Zaffarese
testified to the result. >> It's not possible for the water to have gotten the body there or to have kept
the body in that position. A human being had to physically put a body in that position.
>> You can observe the water elevation >> But the defense presents an expert who
says the tests are meaningless because the water levels had changed between the time of the tests and when Leslie died
in May. >> The opinion is that the the stream flow of Cottonwood Creek on September 9th,
'08 were strikingly smaller by quite a bit than they were on May 3rd, 2008. >> Another question raised by prosecutors,
Fred's motive. They brought in Amy Hiatt-alski. >> Give me a moment. Cuz I'm nervous.
>> Hiatt-alski, a former friend, testifies that the subject of divorce came up once
in conversation with Fred. >> He He said he wouldn't go through a divorce. He wouldn't allow
a woman to dictate when he could or could not see his children. >> What you want to do is you want to be
able to say that's not true. You want to be able to defend him. And you basically have to just sit there
and watch him be attacked. >> He wished he'd met Leslie later in life so that he'd got to sow his oats.
>> Jurors weren't sure what to make of that. >> She was very, very Catholic and probably
would not grant a divorce or not even agree to it. So there could have been some type of motive in that.
>> I wasn't presented a motive other than uh he was tired of being married when he
had neighbors saying they'd seen him walk hand in hand. No motive was huge for me.
>> Dr. Jeff Collina >> In their case, the defense brings in Dr. Jeff Collina, a veteran emergency room
physician. >> Ready? Ready? >> His task to explain why after a 20-ft fall, Leslie's body had no major
injuries. Collina testified that he treated even more serious accident victims. >> But they got propelled out of the uh car
window uh and uh yet may not have any significant injury based on how they landed or or
whatnot. Uh that's very rare. I've seen it. >> solemnly swear or >> The defense also calls Werner Spitz, a
nationally known coroner who has studied Leslie's autopsy report. >> What's your opinion as to the manner of
death for Dr. Moller? >> Accident. Yes, I believe it was an accident. Homicide? I do not believe it was a
homicide. >> Janine, what do you think of Fred's story? >> As soon as the trial ended, I was
pretty firmly convinced that he had some involvement in her death. >> As the case goes to the jury, the
Mollers are struggling to grasp that it's all come to this. After one tragedy with their mother, they could face a
second one with their father. >> Five years ago it was a tragedy. Leslie passed away. The tragedy now, the
tragedy today is ruthlessly coming after an innocent man. And what that's doing not only to him,
but to the rest of the family, this has become a second tragedy. >> As the jury deliberates, the Muller
family retreats into the snowy countryside. To the house where they have lived for the past 5 weeks.
We drove out to see them in the midst of a storm. >> It's been very hard to wait. The minutes
go by very slow. >> This is like a gilded cage in some ways. This is not where you want to be is in
this house no matter how nice it is, no matter how beautiful the setting. >> Yes, we're all anxious to have a
decision made and to be able to go home with Fred. >> As the first day turns into the second
and then a third with no word, tensions are high. >> It's hard not to start thinking about
the worst. >> It was more difficult than I had ever anticipated it would be. >> The jurors were struggling too.
>> I wavered back and forth knowing that there was somebody's life in the balance, but yet there was a victim and
and wanting to make sure that if we felt the evidence supported it, making sure that she got
justice. >> Obviously, there is a debate going on with this jury cuz we're into day four
and there must be factions on either side, and one faction must be trying to convince the other. Are you thinking the
same thing? >> Um, it's it's not very productive to speculate. Um, it kind of just drives you crazy,
but it seems like that. >> I think that we have some very strong people that see that Fred is innocent. I
don't think they're going to let an innocent man go to jail for something that he didn't do.
>> Hello. >> Suddenly, Judge Steven Patrick calls everyone back to court. >> I have another note from the jury.
>> You could feel the tension. >> They used both the words impasse and adamant. >> The jury has hit a wall in its
deliberations. >> There is a great deal of arguing and frustration. >> And there were a couple of times when
tempers did flare. >> Please rise for the jury. >> The judge calls them into the courtroom,
>> You may be seated. >> urging they give it one more try. >> Ladies and gentlemen, I understand what
you are saying. I'm going to give you one more instruction, reflect on that, and then let us know whether you want to
further deliberate or not. >> It's a weighty decision. >> We were all over the place.
>> It went from being a stressful situation to an extremely stressful situation.
>> And just a few minutes later, >> We are deadlocked. I will formally declare a mistrial.
>> It's over. A hung jury. >> I was a guilty vote up until about the last hour, and I changed my vote
basically in the last 15 minutes. >> I want to thank you for your very hard work.
>> What hung up the jury? The lack of a clear explanation of how Fred might have
killed Leslie. >> I would rather let a guilty man go free than sentence an innocent man.
Prosecution did nothing but poke holes in his story. They didn't give us an alternate story. That's where I came up
with my not guilty vote. >> I was pretty firmly convinced that he had some involvement in her death, but I didn't
feel I had the evidence in the trial to vote guilty. >> The bail of his >> In the end, the vote was 11 to 1 for
acquittal. Drew Zimmerman was the lone holdout for guilty. >> I think it was a lie.
I think it was all a big lie. Cuz none of the evidence supported his statement, then that's why I voted the
way I did. >> An outsider looking at this would go, "Wait a second, Drew. 11 people were
wrong and you were right?" >> I guess I'm not easily swayed. My mind was made up. Uh you know, in my my
heart, my mind, in my soul, I felt that that he was guilty. >> Bond will be set at $150,000
cash or surety. >> For the Muller family, it's not a victory, but it is a big sigh of relief.
>> I wish that they could have come to a unanimous decision. It would have been more
satisfying. I haven't been able to um talk to him in person. I've gotten to talk to him
through a glass this last 3 days, and that was the closest I've been to him being able to talk to him, but while
being recorded and knowing that I'm always watched, so it'll be overwhelming. It's overwhelming to think
about it. Um I I can't wait to be able to finally give him a hug after over a year.
I have a friendship wedding ring that I've been wearing around my neck waiting for him to come out so we can
put it back on his finger. >> Soon, Fred Muller will be set free for the first time in a year.
>> Goodbye. >> I love you guys. >> A joyous reunion for the Mullers, but the case is not closed.
I asked Muller's lawyer, Mike DeGuerin, about the possibility of another trial. >> Should there be a second trial?
>> I'm going to give the prosecutor room to decide that on his own. >> Once we catch the bomber
>> Fred returns to San Angelo. Finally. >> Very difficult. Never been in captivity before.
But we'll survive. It's going to make us stronger. I think it already has. >> The Mullers will need every bit of that
strength. 10 days after the first trial ended, prosecutors decide they will retry Fred
Muller. And 8 months after the first trial in a new venue, the Denver suburb of Broomfield
>> Prosecution to call their first witness. >> the second trial of Fred Muller begins.
8 months after a jury could not reach a verdict, Fred Muller is back in court once again
accused of drowning his wife Leslie 5 and 1/2 years ago. >> The man in court, the defendant, put her
head under the water under a log and left her there to die. >> The prosecution will not bring to you
any evidence of why he would do such a thing or how such a thing would be accomplished.
>> Fred's new attorney, >> The evidence in this case, >> Pamela Mackey, is best known for
successfully defending NBA star Kobe Bryant in his 2003 sexual assault trial. >> The whole truth and nothing but the
truth? >> Yes, sir. >> But the prosecution comes out swinging with witness Justin Sparks. After Fred
had unsuccessfully tried to find Leslie in the creek, he ran to Sparks' house for help. Sparks discovered Leslie's
lifeless body under this log. >> He would act kind of frantic one second and then the next second he would he was
talking to me very nonchalant and normal. It almost felt like he was acting more than being um sincere. I
just started getting a kind of a bad feeling about the whole situation. >> Mr. Burden, I'm handing you what's been
marked >> But then, for the defense, Mackey cross-examines other prosecution witnesses vigorously.
>> Did you take a GPS measurement of where it was? >> No. >> Including former Undersheriff Bob
Burden. Mackey attacks Burden's investigation, portraying it as a shotty, mistake-filled mess.
>> Mr. Burden, would you please answer my question? Did anyone take a yardstick and place it in the river to measure the
level? >> If you're asking me, then I can say no. As to what other people did that I did
or did not observe, I cannot testify to that. >> In an attempt to suggest a motive that
Fred had a wandering eye, the prosecution calls up Genie Barnes, Fred's former assistant. She testifies
that Fred was coming on to her. >> Do you remember these texts from the defendant and phone calls from the
defendant caused a strain in your marriage? >> Yes. >> But under pointed cross-examination,
Barnes takes on a very reluctant tone. >> Did you ever have an affair with Fred Muller?
>> No, I did not. >> Did he ever ask you for any sexual favors? >> No, he did not.
>> Did he ever approach you in a sexual way at any time? >> No, he did not. >> Fair to say, Ms. Barnes,
the investigators that you've talked to have tried to make you into the other woman in Fred's life.
>> I feel that. >> But you weren't the other woman in his life, were you? >> No.
Water weighs the same whether it's in your body or out of the body. So, >> And as she did in the first trial, water
rescue expert Andrea Zaferes testifies that Leslie Muller's drowning was no accident.
>> Dr. Muller could not have gotten from the alleged fall site to the lake site.
>> So, Mackey aggressively rebukes her. >> I can't imagine how she got in the water
in the first place from that that cliff. >> Well, there you go again. Volunteering
information to help the prosecution. Ms. Zaferes, excuse me. Excuse me. Please answer my question.
>> I do not know where she >> Mr. Durkin will be happy to get up here and let you talk all you want. But for
right now, the rules are I ask the questions, you give me the answers. >> Okay. >> You know that what the defendant said
happened on May 3rd is unreliable. >> After a 7-day trial, testimony from more than 30 witnesses, closing arguments
begin. >> You know what he said is impossible. >> Prosecutor Matt Durkin says the proof of
Fred's lies can be found on Leslie Muller's body. >> And he can't sell to you that she went
through a gauntlet of 130 ft of Cottonwood Creek and was found in what has been described
as a pristine condition. >> And as for those scratches on Fred's face, >> the defendant can't tell you what
happened to his face. He gives you three different explanations. He says he wrestled with a
bush. He then says that it was perhaps when he was climbing out of the creek. And then
guesses in March of 2009, well, maybe just maybe I self-mutilated myself. Again, impossible.
>> And finally, Durkin argues Fred's behavior that day points to guilt. >> As everyone ran to save Dr. Muller's
life, as everyone ran to save a woman they had never even met or known, the defendant
was running away because he knew she was dead. The defendant didn't run away from
an accident. The defendant ran away from a murder. We ask you to find the defendant guilty.
>> Then, it's Pamela Mackey's turn. >> What the prosecution has done is to take the statement of a man
who has just experienced the most horrific event of his life. Seeing his wife fall
and being swept downstream. And for the next 5 years, they have put that statement under a
microscope and picked it apart. >> Mackey suggests it's the prosecution's story that shouldn't be believed.
>> What evidence, hard physical evidence, do they bring to you of how Fred Muller supposedly caused the death
of his wife? What evidence have they brought to you that he drowned her? Not theory,
not speculation, but hard evidence. Certainly, no evidence that he went from this
to a homicidal maniac. What's the story? They They haven't told you one. >> And if Leslie had fought for her life,
wouldn't her body have shown evidence of a struggle? >> There are no injuries consistent with a
murder caused by drowning. There's no injuries to her neck, her shoulders, her back indicating that she was held down.
Now, what the prosecution relies on is a is a dissection of Mr. Muller's description of the events.
Is that fair? Is that the quantum of proof upon which to convict a man of murder?
>> Mackey says there is a reason why some of Fred's story is confusing. >> The human brain, the human memory
doesn't work like a video camera, particularly in situations that are traumatic and stressful. And so
I ask you, at long last, after five long years, to lift the pain and anguish from Fred
Muller, from his family. I ask you to return the only just verdict in this case.
A verdict of not guilty. >> After the jury deliberates 12 hours over 2 days, the judge comes back with a
stunning announcement. >> Ladies and gentlemen, you have sent me a uh uh what I will will consider to be a
final note indicating that you are um essentially hopelessly deadlocked and do not believe that you can reach a
verdict. Uh Mr. Foreperson, is that correct? >> That is correct, Your >> Okay. >> Fred can't believe what he just heard.
>> Okay, I'll declare the jury deadlocked. We'll declare a mistrial in the case.
>> It's happened again, a hung jury. He tries to control his emotions, but is overwhelmed.
>> No, we'll do that. We're going to set a date fairly quickly. >> Okay. >> The news seems to knock the wind out of
Wendy. >> Um, when do you want to get the >> The jury split, eight guilty, four not
guilty. But Fred Muller's recurring nightmare wasn't over. Now he could face a third
trial for the murder of his wife Leslie. Just two months later, a stunning announcement from the prosecution.
With no new evidence to present, they felt that a unanimous verdict was unlikely. So there would be no third
trial. No chance for a conviction, but no chance for vindication, either. The Mullers told us they were sorely
disappointed Fred didn't get the full acquittal they say he deserves. But they're grateful the case has been
dismissed, so they can resume their lives.

Did a loving wife slip and fall off a cliff while posing for a snapshot or did her husband want more than a good picture? "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant investigates. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Leslie Muller drowned in 2008; her husband Fred faced two trials but was never convicted of murder.

Key points

The Tragic Fall. Leslie Muller took a fall and drowned, leaving her family in shock.
The Investigation Begins. Fred's account of the accident raises troubling questions for investigators.
Trial and Doubt. Fred's murder trial begins, with family members struggling with doubt.
A Second Tragedy. The Muller family faces another tragedy as the jury deliberates.
Tensions Rise. As deliberations stretch on, anxiety builds among the jurors and the family.
Mistrial Declared. After intense deliberation, the jury is deadlocked, leading to a mistrial.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

It's like it just happened in slow motion in front of me.

1:14WatchJul 7, 2026

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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