Erin Moriarty investigates: Was It Murder? | "48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[Music] Look at they're madly in love. They are. Look at that. >> Nancy Sunonnenfeld was found shot in the
head. >> Police report says she was in a second floor bedroom. She later died. We always
thought a wonderful couple because they're always laughing, >> attractive and young and you just
couldn't imagine a happier couple. >> Kurt Sonfeld, he was this debonire, really buff, uh, eloquent young man. You
know, everybody who met him liked him. He was a videographer for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
>> This is a box of some of my things from FEMA. My name is Kirk Mitchell. I'm a reporter
at the Denver Post back in uh 2001. [Music] Kurt went to 911 and he uh videotaped
ground zero. Nancy Senfeld, she was a star in her own right. She got a well-paying job as in
an advertising agency. They were a very hip couple. They would go to all the trendy bars in downtown Denver. They
went on trips. They went to Amsterdam. They went to South America. They had the a beautiful relationship.
[Music] January 1st, 2002, New Year's Day, get a call uh of a shooting. Individual
frantically calling the police saying his wife had shot herself. The evidence didn't really match up with what we were
being told occurred. at 13. >> We were questioning nearly from the start uh that this had anything to do
with a self-inflicted injury and was more consistent with a homicide. >> Curt Sonnenfeld was arrested and charged
with his wife's death, which he insisted was a suicide. But prosecutors suddenly
dropped the charge, saying they did not believe they could prove Sonnenfeld guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
After he was released from jail, he took a trip to Argentina. >> My world had been completely destroyed.
And uh when Paula and I first met, she was the reward for all the suffering that I had been through.
>> He had fallen madly in love with this young woman and decided that he was going to stay in Argentina.
Two years later, prosecutors filed new charges against Sunenfeld. But Sunenfeld had moved to Argentina and prosecutors
can get him extradited. >> Kurt Sonnenfeld went there so that he didn't have to face trial in Colorado.
>> Do you believe he's going to get away with murder? >> It's possible. >> Without a doubt, everybody knew was a
suicide. >> He is innocent. There's nothing else to say. It's pretty incredible what he's pulled off.
>> My name is Curt Sonnenfeld. This is my story. >> I'm Aaron Morardi. Tonight on 48 hours,
the strange case of Curt Sonnenfeld. [Music] [Music] Kurt Sonenfeld has built a new life for
himself in Argentina. Here he's out of the grasp of US authorities who want him extradited so
that they can try him for the murder of his first wife. There are people in Denver, Colorado who think Kurt killed
Nancy. What do you say? >> Well, they are wrong. >> Kurt staunchest supporter is his second
wife, Pala. They met at a restaurant when he arrived in 2003 and married just 40 days later. They're now the parents
of twin girls. You can tell just looking at Kurt and especially after you talk to
him that he is a beautiful person. Kurt is incapable of even killing a cricket or an ant.
Paula has been at Kurt's side as he's waged a public campaign to clear his name.
>> You were innocent for the USA justice. >> Yes, I'm innocent. This is from a 2005
TV appearance in Argentina. >> On January 1st, uh, 2002, my wife committed suicide with a single
gunshot wound to the side of her head. The first policeman that came in said, "Women, don't commit suicide."
That was when the the lies began. But authorities in Denver believe it's Kurt who's lying. Back in the US, Nancy
Sonnenfeld's family has been waiting for justice for more than 14 years. Amy Leak
is NY's sister. >> A lot of times when people have somebody murdered in their family, it goes to
trial and it's over. And it's still painful, but you can move on. We can never have closure.
In the year before Nancy died, the two sisters had grown closer than ever. >> We were finally becoming the best
friends that I had wanted us to be. >> She was a strong person. She was very sophisticated. I always thought she was
beautiful and like I saw her as being perfect. >> Do you remember when your sister met
Kurt? >> Yes, I do. I remember how excited she was. She said she met her soulmate girl.
>> And there's Uncle Kurt. Hi, Uncle Kurt. >> We loved Kurt. He became part of our
family. He was fun to be with. He was good at telling stories. He was pretty much good at everything he did. He had
great charisma. >> Kurt traveled extensively as a freelance cameraman for FEMA, filming natural
disasters. He also documented weapon storage and disposal sites. His biggest assignment was being sent to ground zero
as one of two official videographers. >> I saw this opening that smoke was pouring out of it looked just like the
entrance to hell to me. And >> the footage shot by Kurt and his partner was seen all over the world. And Kurt
seemed to revel in the attention he was getting appearing in magazine articles and posing with celebrities. I must say
that Kurt liked attention and Kurt liked to be in the limelight. >> Leslie Lindberg is NY's cousin. And what
did she think of that? >> She was proud of him. She She loved him. >> But there were problems beneath the
surface. Leslie says Nancy confided in her that Kurt had a problem with drugs and alcohol and it was putting a strain
on their marriage. >> Nancy was very concerned about his drug use. She talked to him about it and he
said that he would stop, but he didn't. >> She saw him going downhill and she was
scared he was going to destroy his life. >> The last straw came when the couple took
a trip to Thailand around Thanksgiving of 2001. >> It was the turning point that affected
the rest of her life. >> Nancy called both her sister and her cousin from Thailand, saying Kurt had
disappeared. She said she found him days later in a hotel room with two women doing drugs. Kurt and Nancy returned to
the US separately. >> I even confronted him. I said, "Kurt, what did you do in Thailand?" I said,
"Even, what kind of drugs did you do?" And his response to me was everything I could get my hands on.
>> Nancy filed for a separation. Do you think she intended to actually divorce him?
>> Mhm. We talked about it and she did. She was planning on moving on. >> This close friend of the couple who
asked us not to show his face says Kurt was worried about money. >> Did Kurt want this divorce?
>> No. He was angry when they spoke about divorcing would ruin their finances. Also, I think he was worried about the
house cuz they owned the house together. >> Had Nancy cut off some of the credit
cards >> that he had? Yeah, she was still more the bread winner of the family and did
what she did to try and cut back on his spending. >> Despite their problems, Nancy and Kurt
spent New Year's Eve together. He says they had arrived home from a party around 1:30 a.m. And just minutes later,
NY's life came to a violent end. >> When I heard the gunshot, I ran into the room where she was. I saw
her there bleeding profusely. I was hysterical. Uh the first thing that I did was to to
hold her and then I jumped up and called the police. >> We realized so really very very quickly
that that this was not a suicide. This was a homicide investigation. >> Retired Denver detective Jonathan Priest
says police were immediately suspicious of Kurt's account. Anytime there's someone else present when somebody kills
themselves, those are characterized as attended suicides. Those bother me. >> But why do attended suicides make you
uncomfortable? >> Attended suicides, people rarely kill themselves in front of other people.
Most suicides occur when people are alone. >> And there was something else that troubled first responders.
>> There was a very fine mist of uh what appeared to be blood staining on his face. The mist staining suggested he was
was near her at the time of the firearm discharge. >> That this was blood spatter at the time
the gum went off. >> Yes. >> Kurt also had a bruise forming around his right eye. Possible evidence of a
struggle. But most telling to the officers on the scene was the unusual location of NY's
gunshot wound towards the back of her head. We asked Dr. Dr. Amy Martin, who was Denver's assistant medical examiner,
to demonstrate >> it was a little bit above uh the ear hole and behind her ear hole on the
right side of her head. So, uh in in approximately this area here, now you've got to angle the gun
so that so that it's going upwards and also a little bit behind. I mean, this is very awkward. I don't
think I have ever seen a clear self-inflicted gunshot wound in that part of the head.
>> And what about the fact that it's what you call a non-cont that it's not up against her head? The gun was not held
up against her head. >> That's unusual. Also, uh it does occur. When I look at at her wound, um I I just
would wonder why why would you why would you shoot yourself that way? If you're going to shoot yourself, why wouldn't
you just shoot yourself in the temple? It's a lot easier to hold the gun to your temple.
>> Nancy Sonel died in the hospital later that morning, New Year's Day 2002. She was 36 years old. Dr. Martin ruled
her death a homicide, and police believe Kurt was her killer. [Music] When Curt Soninfeld was brought in for
questioning, that's when he first learned his wife Nancy had died. He broke down, started crying, and started
stating that his wife had shot herself and began offering suggestions as to what we as law enforcement should be
doing to help prove that that that she shot herself, >> insisting that detectives test NY's
hands for gunshot residue. >> The investigators are wondering, why is he telling us this rather than, you
know, my god, my my wife has been shot. what happened. >> But as the questioning continued, says
former detective John Priest, Kurt admitted the marriage had been in trouble. >> She was upset with him over a trip that
they had taken to um Thailand. She was upset with him for using drugs, according to him. And Kurt told police
it was possible they had fought about his drinking that night and that Nancy probably saw no hope. What do you think
happened that night? >> Maybe she was kicking him out. >> Kurt was arrested for firstdegree murder
within hours of NY's death. The physical evidence thought detectives just didn't seem consistent with
suicide. Using a mannequin and a couch similar to the Soninfelds, Priest demonstrates his
theory. >> You believe Kurt Soninfeld shot his wife. Do you believe he was sitting next
to her on the couch as he did it? >> It would make sense. Yes. >> This is where my radiating spatter is
coming from is this exit wound. So, I'm looking at something like this. >> Priest also believes Nancy was moved
because of the odd position she was found in. She was leaned back against the the back of the couch and her head
was slightly back up against the wall. >> All right. If first responders first found her sitting like this, what was
the evidence that made you believe she had been moved >> on the end of the couch over here? Very
large saturation pattern of blood that's coming from her head and then created a
very large pool on the floor. She had to be tipped over like this at some point.
>> Nancy. >> Hi. Investigators believe Kirk tipped Nancy over so he could get up after shooting
her. And Priest thinks Nancy lay there bleeding for at least 10 minutes before Kurt propped her back up and called 911.
>> The pool of blood that's over here that was created over a good period of time.
That delay, says Priest, gave Kurt time to clean up. And it could explain why gunshot residue was found on Kurt's
clothing, but not his hands. >> He had more than enough time to wash his hands. The fact that he has gunshot
residue on him at all is what's significant because he claims not to have been in the room when the firearm
was discharged. >> But if she was murdered, how did gunshot residue get on NY's hand? And why is her
fingerprint, not Curt's, on the gun's magazine? >> Do you believe that he held the gun in
her hand, or do you believe that he actually had the gun in his hand when he shot her?
>> Well, that I can't tell one way or the other. I can put the gun in the position
when it was fired. Whose hand or hands were on the firearm, I can't tell you. >> I believe it was suicide, and I believe
the evidence showed that. Kurt's defense attorney, Carrie Thompson, says detectives got it all wrong. I believe
that there was a rush to judgment. There was an assumption this was a homicide. >> I mean, how would you describe then the
investigation into this case? >> Shoddy. >> Shoddy. >> Yeah. Shoddy. From the police report
accounts, she was found sitting up in the middle, you know, approximately here. Thompson says Nancy fell over on
her own after shooting herself. >> We're saying that the physical evidence showed that she at one time had slumped
over but never really mo wasn't moved. Just the top part of her body had slumped over with her head causing that
drip that caused that that pool of blood. >> She says that when Kurt discovered his
wife, he grabbed her and then sat her up on the couch. And that Thompson says could account for that blood mist on his
face. She was still breathing which means she could have sprayed out some blood herself onto him.
>> She has no blood in her nose or her mouth. So how do we have expirated blood?
>> This is her graduation from college. She was very proud of that day. >> Would you have ever described your
sister as suicidal? >> No, I never saw her as suicidal at all. Still, Kurt kept insisting Nancy had
been suicidal long before that night. >> She was heartbroken. She was depressed.
You know, her marriage was falling apart, but she was a fighter and she was looking towards the future.
>> But Kurt's attorney claims that less than a month after NY's death, she had gone into the home and personally found
a suicide note. evidence she says police overlooked. >> I can recall very specifically when I
found it. It was right there on the dresser along with her her writings. Thompson says the note appeared to have
been torn from NY's diary. It contained a line from a Walt Whitman poem. What indeed is finally beautiful except death
and love? To which Nancy added, "Kurt, please get help." >> Do you believe that is a suicide note?
>> No. It doesn't read like a suicide note. It doesn't read like the, you know, goodbye cruel world or or I can't live
like this any longer. >> She was asking Kurt to get help. >> It's not a suicide note. She was just so
concerned for him and she was worried that if he didn't stop with drugs that possibly he would kill himself.
[Music] As Kurt's trial date was approaching, the defense team went on the offensive,
doing their own crime scene analysis that seemed to contradict the cop's murder theory.
>> I think they did a half-ass job, quite frankly. >> Then District Attorney Bill Ritter,
>> it just felt to me like our Denver Police Department homicide division still had work to do on this case.
>> Did that mean that you're having some doubts about whether this was a homicide
or a suicide? Well, I think the best way to answer that question is to say I believed that we
had some significant chance of losing at trial. >> Just a little more than 5 months after
NY's death, Ritter made a highly unusual decision. He dismissed the murder charge
against Kurt, but without prejudice, which meant the investigation would continue and charges could be reinstated
later. What was your reaction, Amy, when you heard charges were dropped and he would just go home? We were upset, of
course. I cannot even explain to you the pain that we went through. >> Family, >> it all goes back to our faith in God.
There's nothing else that would have carried us through. >> On June 14th, 2002, Curt Soninfeld
walked out of jail a free man. [Music] The murder charge against Kurt Soninfeld had been dropped, but for months after
Curt's release, Denver police continued to dig for new evidence, starting with Kurt's computer.
>> He says that he was in his um office. He said he was in there on his computer uh
when he heard the firearm discharge and went in to check on his wife. >> When his computer was checked, did that
check out? >> No. A forensic analysis revealed that the computer was last used around 700 p.m.
on New Year's Eve. But Curt's call to 911, saying his wife had just shot herself, didn't come in till hours later
at 1:40 a.m. Then there was a suspicious injury to NY's left index fingernail. So, it could be evidence of some kind of
struggle. So, >> it could be um some she had some bruises on on her hands, bruises around her
right wrist certainly were consistent with uh some kind of a struggle. >> Kurt's DNA was found under that
fingernail. More possible evidence of a struggle. And there were also two jail house informants who say Curt Sonnenfeld
confessed. They came forward separately after Son and Feld had been released. John Priest says their statements
contained information only NY's killer would know. >> Like what? Give me an example that
really just blew you away. Thought, "Wow, this guy must have really talked to him."
>> Um, positions in the crime scene, where evidence was located, things that there
just no way they would have had that information. >> 48 hours tracked down one of those
informants. Robert Drier has a history of identity theft, fraud, and forgery. He shared a jail cell with Son and for
four days and didn't much like him. >> Arrogant, ignorant, self-centered. >> Drier is a hard man to pin down, but he
claims Kurt told him about the night Nancy died. >> What happened at the party? She came
outside and she saw him was another girl again and suspected that he was getting
high and she got mad and she left. She said, "I'm leaving." He goes, "What do you mean you're leaving?" She goes, "I'm
going home and I'm leaving you." She said that was it. And she left and she went home. She walked home
>> without him. >> Without him. >> Drier says when Kurt got home, the couple argued. He said, "You're not
going to leave me. We're going to be together. We're not getting divorced." >> According to Drier, Kurt first told him
he was out of the room when Nancy committed suicide by shooting herself in the back of the head.
>> I said, "Well, she shot herself behind the ear." He said, "Well, that's I said,
"People don't shoot themselves behind the ear, Kurt. Come on, man. You did it, didn't you?" And you know, he said,
"Yeah, he admitted. Yeah, I did." He said, "But the cops will never figure it out, and it'd be your word against
mine." >> As for why Kurt had no gunshot residue on his hands, >> he said, "Well, that's why they make
saran wrap." >> Drier's statements to police could be devastating if they're true. Let's be
honest, you lie to police all the time. You would use other people's identities.
>> You lie all the time. Why should anybody believe what you're telling now? Don't have to believe it, but I'm going
to tell you that man told me he killed that woman, his wife. I have no reason to lie. I got
nothing for it. And Dryer didn't receive any special treatment in return for coming forward.
In December 2003, 2 years after NY's death, the Denver District Attorney's Office felt it had
enough to refile the murder charge. But when police tried to locate Soninfeld, he was nowhere to be found.
>> And it's uh-oh. >> Police considered him a fugitive. >> We start looking for him and we find out
that he's no longer in the United States. When authorities decided to rearrest Curt Sonbel for murder, they didn't know
he had moved 6,000 miles away from Denver. He was now living here in Buenoseres, Argentina. And he wasn't
exactly living the life of a man on the run. He was free to go to Argentina. He met somebody there. The characterization
that he fled to Argentina is bull. >> I had never hid when I was here. I I traveled here with my own uh passport
with an airline ticket under my name. >> In that 2005 interview, Kurt said he simply came here on vacation, intending
only to stay a few weeks. But when he met Pala, that changed everything. >> What made you fall in love with him?
>> Because he is so kind. Because he respect all the forms of life. In PA, he found a sympathetic ear and the perfect
advocate. She's a human rights activist. Kurt declined to talk to us on camera, but Pa spoke on his behalf.
>> You knew from the very beginning he had been accused of killing his wife. >> Yes. He he told me everything about him.
>> And did that put you off at all? Did that make you a little nervous about being around him?
>> Of course not. It just make me sad because the story is terrible. Kurt settled into his life in Argentina with
Pala. He found work as a freelance cameraman, but their life was interrupted after those charges were
refiled in the US. Sonnenfeld was suddenly arrested by Interpole. >> This could not be happening.
Kurt was taken to Argentina's Devoto prison while US authorities fought to have him extradited and sent back to
Colorado. Did you fear during that time that he was going to be extradited? >> Uh it's always fear, but in this case uh
I trust in my country. Kurt was jailed for nearly 7 months, but in March 2005, a judge in Argentina
rejected the extradition request. He ordered Sonnenfeld's immediate release. The reason, Colorado has the death
penalty. >> We were never going to be trying to get the death penalty for Curt Sonninenfeld.
then Colorado Governor Bill Owens. >> I signed promises that we wouldn't seek the death penalty. These promises were
affirmed by the Denver District Attorney and every other party involved. I was frustrated.
I was frustrated uh that he wasn't going to come back to the States. But it wasn't over yet. The extradition
ruling was appealed. So Kurt launched his own public relations campaign. >> A lot of people saying that these
charges were a mistake. >> And for the first time, Kurt claimed that US authorities are really after him
for what he saw at ground zero. >> My things from FEMA >> and that his life is in danger.
[Music] When Kurt Sinfeld decided to go public with his story in 2005, he turned to Rolando Grana, a popular
journalist in Argentina. >> What was the story he told you? He told me that um he was one of two cameramans
who record the ground zero after the the plane crash. I can't believe it really.
He think he was a hero and then he was in jail and he doesn't know why. >> Kurt told Gra Nancy took her own life.
My wife had uh left a suicide note. She had left a journal of suicidal writings.
She had been uh severely depressed in the months. >> I think Kurt is not a murderer. I'm sure
he's not a murderer. >> Grana admits he never did his own investigation, but says the fact that
charges were dropped is evidence the case must be weak. >> What made you believe him? If someone is
uh has killed his wife, it's difficult to understand why he's free. >> What's more, Kurt told Grana a chilling
tale of being falsely accused and tortured by police in Denver. >> One of them put me into a choke hold
while the other one was kicking me repeatedly in the groin, in the stomach. Uh he also had a rubber glove on his
hand with a red chemical and he inserted it up into my nose. >> But if that did happen, Kurt's defense
attorney never heard about it. >> Was he ever beaten at the jail that you're aware of?
>> I have no information about that. >> Kurt also claimed he faced the death penalty.
>> Uh they told me I was going to be put to death. It's not true, but for years,
Kurt and Palace Anenfeld have capitalized on that claim. They've even used their twin daughters to make their
case. >> Scarlet and Natasha are soldiers in this cause. >> It's a poignant and disturbing picture.
The girls holding up signs saying, "Don't let the US government assassinate my father."
Pala even insisted that her now 9-year-old daughters sit in on our interview. >> Are you comfortable with having both of
them here during this? >> Absolutely. How you hide all this that is happening to us from children?
>> Despite what she knew would be sensitive subject matter. >> You know, Kurt's case never had the
death penalty. It doesn't even qualify for the death penalty. >> Mhm. And what about being in jail
forever and dying in a jail? That's the same. >> Still, the concern that Kurt could be
executed won him support in Argentina. >> What is it about Kurt Sonnenfeld's case
that made you want to fight for him? Jorge Rishar and his wife Dolores Rivas are prominent human rights activists who
run centers that care for poor and orphan children. [Music] >> Dolores says she's worried about what
would happen to Kurt's daughters if he's sent back to the US. But what really turned Kurt Sinfeld into
a cause celeb in Argentina is something that many here in the US might find outrageous. His claim that he saw
evidence that the US government played a role in the attack on the World Trade Center. Sonnenfeld claims that's the
real reason why authorities are after him. >> Do you think that the government knows
the the crash will come? Yeah, I'm 100% sure of it. >> And according to Soninfeld, the US did
nothing to stop it. He also claims that it was suspicious that the airplane's flight data recorders or black boxes
were never recovered. >> The black boxes were supposedly vaporized. Right. But I have footage of
the landing gear of the the the seats of the airplane. All of that survived. Sonnenfeld also suggested that the
cleanup at ground zero happened too quickly. >> Almost from day one, they began taking
away all of the metal beams, driving trucks all over the evidence. So, they themselves were destroying evidence
almost purposely and programmatically from the very first days. It was almost like it was pre-planned.
But what he never told Grana is that he didn't even get to ground zero until a full week after the attack. And if he
has any concrete evidence to back up his conspiracy theory, he hasn't shown it to
anyone. Kurt is just saying what other people have been saying for 14 years. He doesn't appear to have any any proof
that of anything new. So why would the American government go after him? Kurt repeated his claims in interviews
on Argentinian talk radio, in magazines, and other TV shows. The World Trade Center, and his story
has been embraced by those who have little trust in governments. Adulo Perez Esabel won the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1980 after years of imprisonment and torture by Argentina's military ha. He's been trying to help
Kurt stay in the country. Kurt and Pala claim they've been spied on and harassed in Argentina by American
agents sent to intimidate them. Kurt even wrote a book about his case published in Spanish only called El
Prestoo or the persecuted. >> It reads like a spy novel and it's one of the reasons why journalists in
Argentina have compared him to James Bond. But he's no hero to Kirk Mitchell, the reporter for the Denver Post, who is
a CBS News consultant. He's been covering the Curt Soninfeld case since the beginning.
>> So here, Curt Sonfeld is a a a murder suspect in Argentina. What is he? >> He he is the whistleblower, the a brave
man who stood up to a corrupt government. This stuff comes up after his arrest in
Argentina when he starts making this and the prosecutor and I are looking at each
other like where did that come from? >> He was a photographer at ground zero. >> Yes, he was. But he's also an
exceptional liar. >> He is trying to use that terrible situation to shield himself
from murder charges. He's trying to use his children to shield himself from murder charges.
When is Curt Sonnenfeld going to stop? When is he going to come home and account for that night?
[Music] More than 14 years have passed since Nancy Sonnenfeld's death, and her family still clings to the hope
that Kurt will someday go on trial for murder. Why does it matter that Kurt come back
and go on trial? >> It matters because my cousin who loved him so much, who gave him so much,
it matters because my cousin lost her life. She's not there because of him. He needs to account atone for that
night. [Music] Nancy Sonnenfeld has gotten lost in all of this, says Denver Post reporter Kurt
Mitchell. >> The way he has couched what has happened to him is he is the victim is pretty
incredible what he's pulled off. >> Mitchell was so intrigued by the case that he wrote a book about it. You call
your book Spin Doctor. Why? Well, I came to the conclusion that his story was so far-fetched, so far from
the truth that that's what he's become. You know, to me, it's astonishing that it's being believed.
>> Is Kurt Sonnenfeld gaming the system? >> Kurt Sonninenfeld is definitely gaming
the system, though someday hopefully that game may run out. Former Colorado Governor Bill Owens says
Soninfeld has come up with a novel way to avoid prosecution by cleverly spinning the horror of 911 to his own
advantage. >> There are a lot of people around the world who want to believe the worst
about our country. And when he says, "Look, I'm a victim. Intelligence agencies are after me." There are a lot
of victims in this case. Not one of them is Kurt Sonnenfeld. NY's family continued to live in limbo
as Kurt's case dragged on through the Argentine courts. In 2014, it landed on President
Christina Kersner's desk. >> There's politics that get wrapped up in these cases.
The current president of Argentina comes from a party that was very antagonistic
towards the US. a fact that Kurt and Pala seem to be counting on. >> I know that my government is going to
protect us. We will fight for Kurt and we are not alone. >> And Pala may have been right. In 2015,
during the final weeks of her presidency, Kersner's administration ruled that Curt Sonenfeld will not be
extradited, stating that to do so would be a violation of human rights. human rights. What about my cousin? What
about her human rights? >> I absolutely believe it's political. I believe that Mr. Sonnenfeld has built an
aura as a martyr, as a hero, and I think the politics of Argentina have protected
him from a murder charge. Kurt and Pala wouldn't comment to us, but shortly after the ruling, Pala
tweeted, "We're living the first day of the rest of our lives." Has the murder suspect outsmarted the US
government? It certainly looks that way. But NY's cousin is determined Kurt will
never find peace. lies, the manipulations, they go on and on and it will come out and I will be alive to see
it. Even if I have to go to Argentina, I will look that man in the eye again just
so that he knows I am still alive. >> And I am here for my cousin. >> Happy birthday
to you. >> And I will never let this die. >> Bye. [Music] 48 hours. Don't miss an episode.
[Music] All Hi, this is Con and I'm going to talk to you about social anxiety. Social anxiety,
depression, it's controlling me. There's people that love me. I have a great mom, great dad,
but I'm so depressed. We spent the day walking the beach and we had a conversation and I asked him
about school and he's like, um, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. And I said, you know, don't worry about it.
Everything is going to be okay. >> It was a nice day out with the family. >> Nothing to give any hint of what was to
come later in the day. >> There was no indication anything was going on. >> I've created a monster out of myself,
past few years because of my depression, racing thoughts, suicidal thoughts. Do you remember when is the last time
you saw your brother? >> He was like going at the door. I thought he was just going to his friend's house.
>> You got up in the morning and how did you know he hadn't come home? >> He wasn't there and we just like
couldn't find him. >> This is not like Conrad not to come home. Then they found his body and
around 5:30 in the afternoon and he died in his truck. Carbon monoxide poisoning.
I will live with this forever. Um the pain. Right away we heard from investigators
that medical examiner found that it was a suicide. It wasn't until they started looking at his phone that they realized
that there was something else going on here because on that phone were hundreds and hundreds of texts from Michelle
Carter to Conrad Roy urging him to end his life. >> You can't think about it. You just have
to do it. You said you were going to do it. Like I don't get why you aren't. >> And Michelle Carter admittedly
said do it. She was kind of making fun of him for for not taking his own life. I thought you really wanted to die, but
apparently you don't. I feel played and just stupid. You're going to have to prove me wrong because I just don't
think you really want this. >> And she kept pressuring him to do it. >> You're ready and prepared. All you have
to do is turn the generator on and you be free and happy. No more pushing it off. No more waiting.
>> There was one point where he actually got out of the truck. >> Mhm. and changed his mind.
>> Yeah, he was scared >> and she told him to go back in the truck. >> Yes. >> Carter charged with involuntary
manslaughter. >> She faces up to 20 years in prison. >> This is totally out of left field. I
coached Michelle. I know her as a good kid. >> I don't believe that she has a conscience. She knew exactly what she
was doing and what she said. >> Hang yourself. jump off a building, stab yourself, I don't know. There's a lot of
ways. >> And it's the texts that become the weapon. >> How could she cause a death when she was
35 m away? >> In these circumstances, this is almost akin to loading the gun and handing it
over. Who knows? Who knows when you have your hand in the trigger when you're sending a text?
[Music] [Music] [Music] It's not realistic what what's going in my head that keeps
on piling and piling and piling. One month before 18-year-old Conrad Roy took his own life, when the minds of
many teens wandered to carefree summer days, Conrad's thoughts were more serious, introspective.
>> I need to be comfortable with my skin. >> Sitting at his computer and his home in
Fair Haven, Massachusetts, Conrad recorded his thoughts on coping with his depression.
>> I need to relax. I really do. He wanted to excel. He was just wanted to to be this like
great person. But in my eyes, >> Conrad's mother, Lynn, explains that her son could be his own toughest critic.
>> It was rough on himself. He really really struggled with um just disappointing
I think myself and his dad. >> The sooner I like myself, the better I'm going to be. Lroy thought
her son was getting better. >> I I do have a lot going for me. >> He was getting professional help and on
an anti-depressant, Selexa. He had been licensed to be a tugboat captain like his dad.
>> That's a huge accomplishment to be a captain. had just graduated high school and college with a scholarship
was on the horizon >> and he was doing everything that was positive that was, you know, looking
towards his future. But on July 12th, 2014, Conrad drove to a parking lot and using
a gasoline powered water pump, sat in his pickup truck as it filled with carbon monoxide, knowingly inhaling the
deadly fumes, killing himself. All the while, his friend Michelle Carter, then 17, was encouraging Conrad
from more than 30 miles away on her phone to take his own life. I don't understand why you would want someone
that was so beautiful inside and out that had so much that was such a kind person
to die. >> How do you describe what this young woman did? >> I cannot only only she she can. The intersection
of the lives of Michelle Carter and Conrad Roy has left a trail of heartbreak and questions about the
circumstances that led to such a tragic death. >> He's one of the kindest persons. He grew
up very sensitive, very humble and kind, >> happy child. >> Very happy. Many pictures of him
smiling, laughing until he became a teenager. And I don't know if it was the hormones, he just, you know, became
anxious. >> Conrad was the oldest child in the family with two sisters, Morgan and
Camden. Lynn and Conrad's father separated when Conrad was 16, and their divorce hit him especially hard. I
>> think he was just more worried about me. That's what boys do. They worry about
their moms um a lot. Conrad would confide in his friend Ariana Taylor as they spent hours walking along the
water. >> He didn't really wasn't able to explain it to me in a way that I could
understand. So, he kind of just described it as a darkness and how there would be times where he just kind of
wanted to isolate himself from everybody. >> Conrad's anxiety and self-doubt had
troubled Lynn since he was 16. He started uh having trouble sleeping and we got him treated and then he had his
first uh suicide attempt a year after the age of 17. >> Conrad had overdosed on acetaminophen.
>> I worked in a psychiatric hospital and I never imagined that one of my children
would um have those feelings. >> Do you think he really intended to kill himself at that point? He did contact a
friend. >> That friend was Ariana. >> He told me that he was really sick and that his mom had just left and that he
wanted her to come back. >> Ariana immediately got in touch with Conrad's parents who brought him to the
hospital. >> He told me, "Mom, I will never do that again." He was sorry. And I was sorry as well
that he felt that way. The fact that he wanted you to call his mother, what does
that say to you? >> It just says that he was calling out for help, >> that he didn't actually mean what he was
doing, but he really needed help and that this was the only way he kind of thought that he would really get help.
>> And that help seemed to be working. >> He actually was getting a lot better. He
told me about how he was going out and he was going to like, you know, the high school parties and just hanging out with
everybody. I was like, "That's amazing." Michelle Carter was another friend of Conrads. They met in 2012 while both
were vacationing in Florida. Conrad and his sisters were visiting relatives who happened to know Michelle.
>> How would you describe Michelle? Friendly. >> Yeah, she's really friendly. She always
made Conrad laugh. >> As it turned out, Michelle lived just a few towns over from the Roy in
Massachusetts. And the relationship continued after the vacation. But while Michelle called Conrad her
boyfriend, his family says the two rarely saw each other. And like so many teens, their interactions were mostly
over text messages. >> Had your son ever mentioned Michelle Carter? >> Yes. After they met in Florida? I met
her 2013 at his baseball game and that was the only time I ever met her. Second time was at his week. Michelle and
Conrad shared something in common that Lynn did not know. Michelle had her own struggles, including an eating disorder,
and both teens at times took anti-depressants. >> You know, probably the interaction was
they both had their issues. >> Softball coach Ed McFarland has known Michelle Carter and her family for a
decade. The Michelle he knows is an ideal teammate. >> I've never seen her do a mean thing.
I've never seen her be mean. Michelle's high school yearbook paints a picture of an active, well-liked
student, one voted class clown, and most likely to brighten your day. But that would not be how her actions would be
described on the last day of Conrad's life. That day started out seemingly happy for
Conrad, spending time with his family. That morning on the 12th, what was his mood like? It
>> was fine. He wanted to, you know, go to the beach with the girls. >> While there, Camden at one point noticed
her brother sitting alone texting. >> Did you know who he was texting with? >> No.
>> Now you think he was texting with Michelle Carter? >> Yeah. >> But you didn't know that at the time.
>> And what was his demeanor? >> I don't know. He I don't know. He kind of seemed like anxious like when he was
like texting. Conrad then took his sisters out for ice cream where his mood seemed to lift.
>> I mean, when you think back on that, would you have ever guessed there was anything wrong that afternoon?
>> After going home, Conrad left at about 6:00 p.m. telling his mother he was going to see a friend.
>> And I asked him if he was going to be back for dinner, and he said he didn't think so. And that was the last words
that he spoke to me. It was July 12th, 2014, the heart of summer in New England. Conrad Roy had
headed out in his pickup truck around 6:00 p.m. As the evening passed, Lynn checked to see when he'd be home.
>> And I texted him, I don't know, before I went to bed, maybe around 10:30, 11. And
then I texted him again in the middle of the night. Conrad didn't respond. Still, Lynn
figured everything was okay. She believed he had beaten back much of his anxieties.
That night, Conrad's sister, Camden, unexpectedly heard from Michelle Carter, that 17-year-old who had battled her own
mental health issues and lived about an hour away. >> How surprised were you that you suddenly
got a text from Michelle? And I thought she was just like just like his friend. And but in the
text she said like we're boyfriend and girlfriend now. And I was just like I looked at my mom I was like they are
>> whether teenage love or something else. Michelle was sending out the word. Had
anyone heard from Conrad Roy? >> And what did she text you exactly? >> She was like um hey Camden like do you
know where your brother is? Was that unusual for him not to come home? >> Oh yeah, absolutely. That was not like
him at all. >> It was sunrise and still not a word. >> So in the morning I went to by Ariana's
house and he wasn't there. >> And so that's when I began to search where is he? What happened?
>> We went by dad's house. There was no sign of him. Maybe an hour later, I felt
like like this um rush go through my body that I've never felt in my life. And I felt at that point that he wasn't
with me. On the afternoon of July 13th, police found him inside his pickup truck parked
at the local Kmart, his cell phone right next to him. >> And he died in his truck. Carbon
monoxide poisoning. I got in the car and my mom was just like crying like the most I ever seen her cry. And she was
like, "He's gone." And like she was just like, "Your brother's gone." >> It still hurts just as much as it did
then, doesn't it? >> I will live with this forever. Um the pain. >> I don't get why it happened. Why did it
happen? Why did it happen to him? And Michelle seemed to take Conrad's death as hard as anyone. Once again, a text
was her choice of communication. This time to Lynn. I am so very sorry. Conrad meant so much to me. No one questioned
the suicide until cops got a hold of Conrad Royy's phone. It would prove to be an investigation like no other. No
gun, no knife, no crucial DNA in this case. Only this, a trail of words starting with those on the cell phone.
Messages with Michelle Carter. >> And once investigators found this dialogue, they knew that there was something else
up and they wanted to get to the bottom of it. >> Former Boston Herald legal columnist and
48 Hours consultant Bob McGovern. And so this thing turned from a suicide investigation into a homicide
investigation. >> Michelle seemed to be encouraging Conrad not to live, but to die. Text flew
between the two of them for more than a week. Right up to the moment he took his
own life. I'm determined. I'm happy to hear that. When you get back from the beach, you got to do it. No more
thinking. Yes. No more thinking. you need to just do it. But now with Conrad Roy dead, Michelle seemed devastated,
acting as if his death was a total surprise. When it came to the funeral, she sat up close to kind of where the
family area was. I always described her seen as the grieving widow. She was just
um constantly like sobbing. >> And two months later, Michelle even held a fundraiser to honor Conrad in her town
of Planeville. That fall, investigators interviewed Michelle Carter at her high school.
>> Did you do you think you had contact with him that day? >> I think so. >> But Michelle's story was riddled with
holes and police weren't buying it. They poured through her cell phone. Her texts
ranged from urgent to ominous. Like one sent to her friend Samantha Boardman on July 12th at 8:02 p.m. Just minutes
after police believe Conrad killed himself. He just called me. I heard moaning like someone was in pain and he
wouldn't answer when I said his name. That text was followed by another. I think he just killed himself.
Michelle was texting her friend, but what she wasn't doing was calling for help. And there was at least one more
text found on Conrad's phone that now seems telling. Only moments before he died, Michelle asked him this. Did you
delete the messages? Police would extract more than a thousand deleted text messages between Conrad and
Michelle. Some showed his fear and reluctance to take his life on the very day he died. I don't know. I'm freaking
out again. I do want to, but like I'm freaking out for my family. But even as Conrad panicked and
considered abandoning his plan to die, Michelle egged him on. She described it to her friend Samantha that September in
this text. Sam, his death is my fault. Like honestly, I could have stopped him. I was on the phone with him and he got
out of the car because it was working and he got scared and I effing told him to get back in.
The road to justice would be complicated. Massachusetts has no law against encouraging or assisting
suicide. And Michelle was miles away when Conrad died. >> People don't realize in our generation
texting does a lot. It's like having the person right there in front of you when
you're texting somebody. >> And the Supreme Court of Massachusetts seems to agree. In the summer of 2016,
the court ruled that even though Michelle was an hour away when Conrad Roy died, she had a virtual presence
that night in that pickup truck. It's a controversial legal theory born out of a
digital world. And so nearly 3 years later, Michelle Carter will stay on trial in this courtroom for involuntary
manslaughter. Michelle's attorneys, fearing how the text would play, advised her to wave her
right to a jury trial. She put her fate in the hands of a veteran judge, Lawrence Monz.
>> Are you doing that of your own free will, knowingly involuntarily? >> Yes. >> See more of Michelle Carter's texts to
Conrad Roy on Facebook at 48 hours. [Music] [Music] She assisted and devised and advised and
planned his suicide. >> Inside this Massachusetts courtroom, Michelle Carter, now 20 years old, looks
more like a prep school student than a criminal defendant. And on July 12th, 2014, as his truck was filling with
carbon monoxide, he was scared. He got out. It was the defendant on the other end of the phone who ordered him back
in, then listened for 20 minutes as he cried in pain, took his last breath, and died.
>> The alleged weapon in this case, Michelle Carter's own words. What she did in theory, according to the
prosecutors, is she recklessly caused Conrad Royy's death. >> The state's case revolves around
Michelle's chilling text messages to Conrad as he was apparently having second thoughts the day he took his
life. >> The defendant texted Conrad, "You can't think about it. You just have to do it.
You said you were going to do it. I don't get why you aren't." >> And then there was this. 10 days before
he died, Michelle sent him this text message assuring him not to worry about his family's feelings. Yeah, they'll
probably blame themselves for a while, but they will get over it and learn to accept it. A notion that baffles and
upsets Conrad's mother. >> I think she needs to be uh held responsible for her actions cuz she knew
exactly what she was doing. Linroy testified that on the last day of his life, Conrad was in a good frame of
mind. >> He was eating tortilla chips and guacamole on the way to the beach. >> In um July of 2014, did he ever mention
he wanted to harm himself? >> No. I knew he was a little depressed, but I thought he was he was doing
great. But prosecutors contend that Michelle and her incessant texting had immense influence over Conrad. Even
though Michelle was more than 30 miles away from him when he took his life, that her virtual presence caused him to
do it. >> She helped him devise a plan to kill himself using a combustion engine to
poison himself with carbon monoxide gas. >> Michelle sent Conrad this text message.
I'm not going to sleep until you are in the car with a generator on. Your honor,
this case is a suicide case. It is not a homicide. >> But defense attorney Joseph Cataldo
painted a very different picture. >> The evidence of the texting is overwhelming that Conrad Roy was on this
path to take his own life for years. Michelle Kata was not present. Michelle Kata had been texting with him. She did
not physically see this individual for over one year. The defense brings up Conrad's acetaminophen overdose when he
was 17 and claims he had been suicidal for years in part because of his parents' divorce and he had a
contentious relationship with his father. And if the judge is considering Michelle's text messages, he should look
at all the messages between the teenagers. Even up to a month before Conrad's death, Michelle seemed like a
concerned friend, trying to help a socially awkward and emotionally fragile Conrad. On June 19th, Michelle texts
Conrad, "Are you 100% positive you're never going to commit suicide? Be honest with me. Do you think about doing it?"
"No, I'm not." In other messages, she talks about wanting to take him to a therapist or a mental health hospital.
But on July 1st, 11 days before his suicide, text between Michelle and Conrad took a sinister turn. Prosecutors
let the words tell the story. >> She talked him out of his doubts point by point. She assured him that his
family would understand why he did it. She researched logistics. >> Michelle had been sending Conrad
suggestions on how to kill himself for weeks. Hanging is painless and takes like a second if you do it right.
But what would drive anyone to send a text like that? Prosecutors say Michelle was desperate for friends and attention.
And she got it when she talked about her suicidal boyfriend. Just days before he
died, she sent texts to girls she wanted to be close with in an effort to get their attention and sympathy.
>> Lexi Elyn, please. >> Pretending Conrad was missing. >> Do you remember getting a message about
Conrad being missing? >> Yes. He's missing like they don't know where he is. >> Prosecutors say Conrad still being alive
presented a problem for Michelle. She could be exposed as a liar. So, it was important he kill himself.
On July 12th, the night he did take his life, Conrad drove to a Kmart parking lot and texted Michelle, "Leaving now.
Okay, you can do this. Okay, I'm almost there." That was the last text Conrad ever sent
to anyone. But there was also a 46-inute phone call. Michelle called him. She was the
last person to speak with him. After that call ended, Michelle texted her friend Samantha.
>> I'm going to ask you to read that text message, please, aloud. Sam, he just called me and there was a loud noise
like a motor and I heard moaning like some was in pain and he wouldn't answer when I said his name. I stayed on the
phone for like 20 minutes and that's all I heard. >> Then 27 minutes later, Michelle sent
Samantha another text message. >> I think he just killed himself. >> Prosecutors say Michelle within hours
began building a virtual alibi. Knowing that he was likely dead, she began acting like a concerned friend, sending
Conrad this text message. I'm scared. Are you okay? I love you. Please answer. Michelle showed little emotion at the
trial. Her defense relies on this psychiatrist, Peter Ban, to explain her behavior, even
though he was not treating Michelle at the time. He testifies that she was involuntarily intoxicated by an
anti-depressant drug she started taking three months earlier. Selelexa, >> she was imshed in a delusion where she's
thinking that it's a good thing to help him die. >> But prosecutors completely dismiss that
theory. >> She does not tell the Roy family about being on the phone with Conrad the night
before. Does she? his dead body is in a car 24 hours and she withholds that information
>> inexplicably. Michelle sent more than 80 texts to Conrad after he died. In some
she even apologizes for not saving him. But it wasn't just Conrad she texted. The prosecution is hoping the judge pays
particular attention to this text that she sent to her friend Samantha a week after Conrad's body was discovered.
They have to go through his phone and see if anyone encouraged him to do it on texts and stuff. They read my messages
with him. I'm done. His family will hate me and I could go to jail. Her [Music] actions, your honor, on July 12th, 2014
caused the death of Conrad Roy. They were reckless and she knew it. >> According to the prosecution, Michelle
Carter helped put Conrad Roy in his grave. >> It was a felony and she caused serious
bodily harm. According to the defense, she didn't know what she was doing. >> Good morning.
>> She was psychotic, delusional, involuntarily intoxicated from taking the anti-depressant Selexa.
>> Michelle Carta underwent an involuntary intoxication in June and July >> to prominent child and adolescent
psychiatrist Dr. Harold Coplowitz. That makes no sense at all. Though not a witness in this case, he says those
drugs called SSRI are remarkably safe. >> They don't make you delusional. They don't make you psychotic.
>> And they don't make you intoxicated. >> They don't make you drunk. >> Dr. Coplowitz believes the act of
texting was more mindaltering than any drug. >> And the problem with text is that it
separates you. It makes you feel less responsible. But no amount of distance can explain her behavior, especially the
prosecution's contention that Michelle ordered Conrad back into the truck, says the doctor.
>> It's very hard to understand where the man says to a friend, listen, I'm feeling pain. I don't want to do this.
I'm going to get out of the car. There there's no way to seem to make sense of the fact that someone then says a friend
says get back in the car and kill yourself. This really has a vicious and a very very malicious quality to it.
>> No matter how malicious, Dr. Copit says Michelle really couldn't have convinced
Conrad to kill himself if he hadn't already been suicidal. So while Michelle could not force Conrad
to kill himself, she could enhance his risk of killing himself. She could encourage him to complete the act
because he was already on his way. And simultaneously, she could have screamed out for help, which might have prevented
this deadly outcome. >> I want to recover from this. And I feel like I haven't recovered from it yet. I
feel like I still have a long way to go. >> Clearly, these heartbreaking videos now
posted on YouTube show a young man looking for that different outcome, says Dr. Coplowitz.
>> You expose yourself like this, it says, "Please help me. >> I've created a monster out of myself
past few years because of my depression." Sadly, Conrad Roy is not alone. According to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, we lose approximately 4600 young people between the ages of 10 and 24 to suicide each
year. One reason is that teenagers are simply more prone to depression. Another reason, they're more susceptible to peer
pressure. which is why the Netflix show 13 Reasons Why has caused such an uproar. In the
show, a teenage girl dies by suicide and leaves 13 recordings to other teens whom
she blames. >> I think it's one of the most dangerous programs on the air right now for the
simple reason that it glamorizes suicide. Unfortunately, suicide's very contagious. We know that teenagers who
watch these kind of TV programs are more likely to think about suicide, are more
likely to attempt suicide, are more likely to commit suicide. >> It appears that Michelle Carter may have
been one of those teens influenced by what she saw on TV. Not 13 Reasons Why, but perhaps an episode of Glee. When an
actor on Glee died of an overdose in real life, the show wrote his death into the script. Listen to the similarities
between what the character Rachel says about the loss of her boyfriend and what Michelle later says about losing Conrad.
>> I had it all planned out and we would live happily ever after. >> It's a good plan.
[Music] >> Did you tell him? >> I didn't have to. He knew. >> Michelle's text to a friend after
Conrad's death is almost word for word. I had it all planned out. He knew, too. I didn't have to tell him.
>> He was my person. >> Michelle writes the exact same line. He was my person. Poor her. Her
boyfriend died. They were going to get married one day, and now she's the grieving girlfriend. According to the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, it all boiled down to that starring role as the grieving girlfriend.
>> The comm's position, your honor, is that she wanted attention. >> After six days of testimony,
closing arguments begin. >> The defense is up first. >> The evidence actually establishes that
Conrad Roy caused his own death. Joe Cataldo reminds the judge that Conrad had attempted suicide before and
points to a text Conrad wrote to Michelle. >> There's nothing anyone can do for me
that's going to make me want to live. It's very bad to hear, but I want to let you know that truthfully.
>> The decision to die was Conrad's, not Michelle's, says Cataldo. He created this situation, your honor.
>> Most importantly, Michelle was nowhere near Conrad when he killed himself. >> There's no evidence that Michelle Carter
has any physical actions whatsoever in this case with Conrad Royy's decision. It was all of his physical activity.
>> But prosecutor Katie Rburn gets the last word. >> Although she wasn't physically present,
she was in his ear. She was in his mind. She was on the phone and she was telling
to him to get back in the car even though she knew he was going to die. She absolutely knew it was wrong. And she
absolutely caused the death of this 18-year-old boy. And I ask you to find her guilty.
[Music] Three days after Judge Monz began his deliberations, two families prepared
themselves for his verdict. >> Mr. Roy. >> For the Carter family, freedom is at stake. For the Roy, it's about justice
for their son. >> She instructs Mr. Roy to get back into the truck. Well, knowing of all of the
feelings that he has exchanged with her, his ambiguities, his fears, his concerns,
>> the judge said Carter caused a dangerous environment. And under Massachusetts
law, she had a duty to save him. >> She called no one. She did not issue a simple additional instruction. Get out
of the truck. Miss Carter, please stand. This court, having reviewed the evidence and applied
the law there too, now finds you guilty on the indictment charging you with the involuntary manslaughter of the person
Conrad Roy III. >> Guilty. This court has proven >> a verdict that is groundbreaking in
terms of recognizing the deadly power of words, but one that leaves no winners, just heartbreak.
>> I know we all wish that he had the opportunity to grow up into adulthood to become a tugboat captain and to enjoy
his future. Nearly seven weeks after being convicted, >> Michelle Carter, who is out on bail,
arrives for sentencing. >> Where hostile words greet her. >> She could face 20 years in prison.
>> Please remain standing for one moment while US warrant. >> First, Conrad's father and sister recall
a life cut short. Not a day goes by with without him being my first thought waking up and my last
thought going to bed. >> Michelle Carter exploited my son's weaknesses and used him as a pawn in her
own well-being. She has not shown any remorse. Where was her humanity? >> The prosecutor reads a statement from
Conrad's mother, Lynn, who found it too difficult to speak. >> I do not know where to begin. I pray
that his death will save lives someday. >> Lynn wants to make it a crime to encourage suicide.
>> I pray that a law comes so forth so that another mother does not have to endure
what I am. I do not believe that another can go on to encourage someone to take their life and it can be okay.
>> The prosecution asks that Carter serve 7 to 12 years behind bars. She has shown no remorse and in fact
after Conrad's death she sought attention and sympathy for herself. All she had to do was say get out of the
car. >> Michelle Carter does not speak at sentencing, but her attorney does and ask for probation.
>> Miss Carter does regret what happened. She also sent a letter to the probation
department where she accepts uh responsibility. This is a terrible, terrible tragedy and uh she very much
regrets this and praise your honest judgment of leniency. >> Then Michelle Carter learns her fate.
>> Miss Carter, please stand. >> He sentences Michelle Carter to 15 months behind bars. A sentence that does
not please the defense who appealed the conviction. We're asking you, your honor, to stay the jail sentence until
we can have our day in court. >> The judge takes the request seriously, recognizing the significance of this
case. >> The conviction may be reversible, but the time spent in prison is not. and
then makes a stunning announcement >> that a grant of a stay through the Massachusetts court system only
is warranted. >> A stay meaning Michelle Carter would be out on probation, not in jail, while her
appeal made its way through the Massachusetts courts. It was a decision that disappointed Lyn Roy and her
daughters. We're just going to honor his life um and do it in the most best way we can. We want him to be proud of us.
>> All right. >> In February of 2019, Michelle Carter's conviction was upheld. >> Miss Carter will now be taken into
custody >> and she began serving her 15-month sentence. Her lawyers appealed to the US
Supreme Court. The court declined to hear that appeal. In response, her lawyers issued the following statement.
We are deeply disappointed that the Supreme Court has decided not to review Michelle Carter's wrongful conviction.
Lyn Royy's focus now is on changing laws. >> What would you like there to be? >> What kind of law?
>> I would love one in honor of him. Uh his name Conrad's Law. >> There's people that love me. I have a
great mom. My son mattered. He matters. Will always matter. Someone that had a family and future and
mom and dad. I will never get over him. [Music] a beautiful ballerina, a troubled
marriage, a deadly confrontation. >> She tells the neighbor, "I shot Doug in self-defense."
>> Was she genuinely afraid or just trying to get her way? >> Underneath those white feathers, she's
an evil woman. She's the black swan. >> 48 hours, Saturday at 10:9 central on CBS.
[Music] >> There's definitely mysteries involved in this case. >> It was a cold Halloween morning. Even
had some snow on the ground. The call came out at 5:37 in the morning. My my life shattered.
>> Colatricle had called our dispatch. >> They met us on the porch. >> Exactly. Where's the house?
>> It's right here. Is this one with red and white? >> Did he seem upset? >> I mean, there were tears coming down and
was hard to understand. Was choked up. We go up to the door, start making announcements inside.
>> Hey, police department. >> Looking to my left is when I first see Kristen. >> I kind of focused in on her jaw moving.
I could see the movement of her jaw. >> We got a shirt. >> You have a hole? >> Yeah.
>> Yep. >> So, she was still alive. >> We were hopeful. >> Could she be saved? >> No.
After you did your autopsy, how did you rule on Kristen Trickle's death? Homicide or suicide?
>> Suicide. >> Suicide. >> Y >> the victim's family in this right out of the gate was just adamant that this was
not a suicide. >> The scene was kind of unusual. We had a female with a large weapon laying in bed and it's not common
to see that. >> You have a replica or a very similar type of gun. Can you show it to me?
>> Sure. >> How large? Oh, >> it's pretty hefty as you can tell. It's a handy. >> I'm a little surprised.
>> Yeah, it's awkward to maneuver. Not something you'd easily turn on yourself. We had evidence that led us to believe
that Kobe Trickle had killed his wife. >> I do not believe he did it. I was Colby
Trickle's defense attorney when he called 911. She was still showing signs of life. Had he intended to murder her,
it just seems odd that he would call immediately. I think it's very possible that Kristen
Trickle picked up a gun that night in great anguish and ended her life. a professional came in and looked at the
life of Kristen, dug into basically every aspect of her life, got into who Kristen was prior to her death.
>> So, basically, this is a psychological autopsy trying to figure out the state
of mind of a person who died. That's difficult to do, isn't it? >> Yeah. And had this ever been done in the state
of Kansas before? >> Never in a criminal case. No. [Music] [Music] Oh no. Sergeant Brandon Halman of the Hayes
Police Department vividly remembers the dark, cold Halloween morning as he arrived at Kristen Trickle's home.
[Music] The bedroom she was in is actually this window on the left. >> Oh, the bedroom's right there.
>> Yeah, that's the bedroom right there. >> And the moment he found the 26-year-old
near death in bed, >> I could see the firearm. from what I could tell initially, a large caliber
revolver and laying across her abdomen about like this. >> How was she dressed? >> Uh, almost fully undressed. She was just
wearing underwear. >> After Kristen showed signs of life, the sergeant quickly moved the revolver away
from her and carried Kristen into the living room for CPR. >> The only injury that I could see at that
point was the the entrance wound. >> And where was that entrance wound? underneath her uh chin here.
>> There was nothing the first responders could do for Kristen. >> I went out to Colby on the porch and
told him that she had died. >> Hello, my name is Brandon H. Hotman. I'm the sergeant working today.
>> Hman's body camera was only recording audio that day. >> She died and I'm so sorry.
>> Are you sure? Are you sure? Sergeant Hman says he asked Kristen's husband, Colby, to go to the police
station so he could tell investigators what happened. >> Did he seem to be cooperative?
>> He was. Yep. >> Agreed to go up. We got him some shoes. >> At the station, Colby said that hours
earlier, Kristen had come home from Walmart, where she worked in the gardening center, and the couple had
played video games. He went to bed before his wife, he said, and woke up to his ears ringing
and then found Kristen lying next to him with a gunshot wound to her head. >> Ran up to her
and she she was looking at me. >> Then what did you do? >> I ran over to my phone and I called 911.
Kowi told investigators that while he was on the phone with 911, he checked Kristen's pulse but felt nothing and
then picked the revolver off her body. >> Where was the gun at? >> It was laying by her neck and pulled it
back. >> What did you do with the gun? >> For a moment, he says he thought about
taking his own life. I started to put in my head and I was on the phone. They said they were
standing sending people. So I thought maybe they'd help her. >> While Kobe Trickle was still at the
station, Kristen's aunt Delin and uncle Brandt Rice, a local pastor, found out Kristen had died. I got a call from my
mom and the worst phone call ever to get. She said, "Kristen's dead. She's been shot." And it was just awful. I
said, "Mom, that can't be right. That can't be right. That doesn't even make sense." But more baffling was that Kobe
had said Kristen's death was a suicide. >> What did you tell investigators initially? We just don't think she would
do this. >> Oh, 100%. I said, "There's no way of all the people I know in this world, the
last person that I would ever think would take their own life would be Kristen because of the joy she she has.
>> It's so out of character to Kristen and how she solves problems. She's not a runner from problems."
>> Delin and Brandt Wright say Kristen's family and her two dogs meant the world
to her. >> The thought of her hurting herself in any way >> or anyone >> or anyone is so foreign. She would never
take her life and not tie up loose ends with her family, make sure her dogs had somewhere to go.
And they believe they knew her better than just about anyone else. They had watched her grow up. It is hard to find
a photograph. She is not smiling just fully. She had had that smile even though Dyn
and Brant say Kristen had a tough childhood. Her mother left her and her father when Kristen was 2 years old.
When she was 17, Kristen moved in with her aunt and uncle and their three kids. Delin and Bran say she thrived.
>> She loved being with our family. She loved the peace in our home. >> Chloe is Brandt and Dyn's daughter.
Kristen was my older sister figure in my life and I really looked up to her and she was just like always there to make
me smile and feel important. The family remembers when Kristen met Colby. They were both 18 years old.
>> Colby attended our church. Colby for a time was on the worship team at our church. They are the band that plays the
worship music during our services. He wowed her with his guitar playing abilities, songs that he had written.
>> But just 5 years later, Kristen was dead and Kobe was saying she took her own
life. Coroner Lyall Nord Hook examined the scene. And looking at the wound, he believed
the revolver was in close range to her chin when it was fired. And in Nord Hook's experience, that was
not unusual for a self-inflicted gunshot wound. How would you believe the revolver was being held?
>> Close to the chin and parallel to the body, >> like this. >> Yeah. >> But Detective JB Burke Holder had also
been called to the house. >> We respond to suicides. They happen several times a year.
>> And to him, this didn't seem like suicide. Having a female with a gunshot wound, especially to the head, uh was uh
was unusual for us. >> Why Why is that more unusual for women? You think >> for women, they're a little bit more
concerned about looks even after death. And so they think about that. >> And there was something else.
>> When I got there, I remember alarm going off. [Music] >> Kristen's cell phone alarm is heard
repeatedly on audio recorded by first responders. I think I actually silenced it. She had set an alarm to get up, to
get ready for work and had plans for that day. A lot of times individuals who are thinking about suiciding, they're
not setting alarms. It doesn't matter when they get up. There was candy set out in the kitchen
area. She and Kobe had planned for Halloween to go on as it normally would with trick-or-treating.
>> And nothing troubled him more than that weapon found at the scene. Detective Burke Holder wasn't sure Kristen was the
one who fired it. >> The gun was a full-size 357 revolver, a large caliber weapon, approximately 11
to 12 in. It can be hard to handle. And so being able to place that gun under your chin, and discharge that firearm
just didn't seem very likely for a smaller female in what was described as a dark bedroom.
This wasn't an openandsh suicide case. There was questions. After his wife Kristen died in the early
morning hours on Halloween, Kobe Trickle spoke with investigators for more than 11 hours.
>> What's your name? >> Kobe. >> Kobe. >> Yes, ma'am. I'm so sorry. >> He was asked over and over again to
recount the events of the night before. >> Do you guys have any fights, anything
like that yesterday? >> No. >> Kobe also told investigators about his job with the US military as part of
human intelligence. There's some interesting places they send you with being intel,
but they sent me to Middle East and they sent me down into Central America. >> Sounds like some movie stuff right
there. >> First impressions of Kobe Trickle, it's that he was a guy who was in the military. He had a I guess a
decorated past of overseas tours. And then also Kobe Trickle was a guy who loved his wife. But detective JB
Burkeholder says he had questions about Kobe's account of the morning Kristen died. After finding Kristen, KBY says he
called 911 and as he later told police, he picked up the gun and thought about ending his life. What troubled
Burkeholder is where Kobe put the gun after he changed his mind back on Kristen's stomach.
>> I put it back down and ran outside. >> Just very odd. It doesn't seem as though
if I'm calling 911, if my wife's dying um on on the bed that I would place the gun back down on her body.
>> Kobe was asked if there was any life insurance on Kristen. >> I have some on me
from military, but that's it. >> No insurance on Kristen, he said. And then was asked if he had anything to do
with Kristen's death. Uh, did you in fact kill her? >> No. [Music] >> Kobe left the police station that day,
but first responder Sergeant Hman was increasingly suspicious about Kobe's actions at the scene. He wondered why
KBY didn't demand to be by Kristen's side as they tried to save her life. >> Your wife's inside and here she is, you
know, bleeding out, dying, and you're on the porch. While first responders were administering CPR, Colby was chatting
with officers about video games. That conversation was recorded by a police body cam.
>> What kind of games do you guys like to play? Counter strike. Everything from Call of Duty to Minecraft.
>> That day, as investigators got a search warrant for Col's cell phone, an autopsy
for Kristen Trickle was underway. At the scene, coroner Lyall Nord Hook, who suspected suicide, had looked for
any evidence that someone else was involved, like signs of a struggle. Were there any signs of defensive wounds or
any signs that she had fought with anyone before she died? >> No. >> Corer Nord Hook says he also examined
Kristen's body for signs of past physical abuse. Typically, if there's a series of progressive injuries over a
period of time, so you can tell that they've been beating on each other. In this case, I wasn't really seeing that.
So, I'm going, well, I have to take the husband's statement at word value that he was there and the gun went off and
she is dead. Norduk says 3 days after Kristen's death, based on the information he had
at the time, he determined that the manner of death was a suicide. But Kristen's uncle Brandt and Aunt Dyn
say the more they learned about the facts of the case, the more questions they had.
>> When I heard that it was a gun, there's no way. We knew Kristen was scared of
guns. Kristen was also very, very private in her body, very modest. When I found out she was not dressed,
that was shocking to me. Reflecting on Kristen's relationship with Colby, Brandon Dyn told authorities that for
years they were bothered by what they say was K's controlling behavior. If she didn't immediately respond to a text or
wasn't able to answer her phone, he would get very frustrated with her, he wanted her at his beck and call.
>> At the time, the Rices say they told Kristen they had serious concerns about Colby.
>> We know that she was not happy with us. I believe that he convinced her that we
were against her and therefore she separated herself somewhat. >> Kristen decided to marry Colby and
eventually moved almost 300 miles away to Kansas City. But life for the couple was difficult,
says Brandt. Colby enlisted with the Army Reserve and did odd jobs. Kristen worked at a vet clinic. Money was tight.
In early 2019, the couple moved back to the Hayes area and the Rice say Kristen was coming to their church again.
>> Oh, we were thrilled. >> We were so thrilled to reconnect with Kristen and it was just like it was when
she lived in our home. >> Yeah. And in the months before her death, they say she was making plans to launch her
pet boarding business. >> She had picked out a little house that's south of town and has a little barn
behind it and she wanted to turn the little barn into the the boarding area. >> To the Rice family, Kristen seemed happy
and excited for her future. But after her death, Brandon Dim wondered about Colby.
Was Colby capable of murder. As investigators began digging into Kobe's story, they poured over the data
in his cell phone. >> There's several, I guess, two big aha moments. They discovered Kobe had been
exchanging flirtatious Snapchat messages with another woman. >> He um had conversations with her, which
would be described as a sexy conversation. >> Also on that cell phone, according to
detective JB Burkeolder, was evidence that contradicted what Kobe had first told investigators when asked about life
insurance on his wife. I have some on me from military, but that's it. >> Cell phone data revealed that not only
was Kobe aware Kristen was covered by a life insurance policy called SGLI for spouses of military members. In the days
before her death, they say he Googled the amount the policy would pay out. Detective Ridgeway was able to find a
well, I believe it was a screenshot of a search that he had conducted uh 10 days
prior to Kristen's death um asking what his spouse's life insurance would be. >> On November 4th, 2019, investigators
asked Colby to return for more questioning. probably 10 days ago. You looked up a life insurance issue.
>> When When I I never did. >> You did? >> I never did it. >> If If I If I died.
>> Well, if your spouse died. >> Colby, who agreed to talk without a lawyer, suggested that Kristen might
have done the search herself on his phone. We always gave each other access to each other's phones and stuff.
>> Investigators also asked Colby about his online relationship. Colby admitted that
it had started a few months prior to his wife's death after he met the woman on a
group chat while playing video games. >> Did Chris find out about that relationship?
Not that I know of. Kobe told them the relationship was a virtual one, that he had never actually
met the woman, but investigators discovered he had been texting with her just hours after Kristen's death while
he was still at the police station. >> I guess to his credit, he said that he was busy and couldn't talk right now.
Uh, but then he said, "I wish I could." Aaron Cunningham is assistant Ellis County attorney,
>> which is probably the last thing that you should say to a woman you're having
an online affair with when you're being investigated about your wife's death. >> When Kobe Trickle left the police
station after his second interview, Detective Burkeholder checked out his claim that Kristen had used his phone to
research life insurance policies. We were able to uh get video, surveillance video from the Walmart
store. >> What they discovered was that Kristen was at work at Walmart at the time the
cell phone search was made. >> We were able to see that she didn't have access to a phone.
>> The inconsistencies in Kobe's statements kept piling up, says Burke Holder. Like
this one, >> she keeps the revolver on her side. Did I have >> Kobe had said Kristen had kept the 357
revolver by her side of the bed, but that didn't seem to line up with what Burke holders saw at the scene.
>> When we looked at the scene, we saw multiple firearms on what was described as K's side of the bed.
>> There were also photos of the couple's bedroom found on K's phone. >> So, this picture was taken, I believe,
um, a month prior to Kristen's death. Um, you see a large framed revolver on the bed where Colobby Trickles uh
described as being his. >> And do you think that's the 357? >> That's the only 357 in the house that we
found. That tells me that this was K's gun. >> Still, the investigation stalled.
>> You have all these investigators who are uncovering more and more evidence that
there's something really wrong with this case. And you've got the coroner who calls this a suicide. I mean, that's a
problem, isn't it? >> Uh, it it is and it isn't. And >> it was initially, wasn't it?
>> Sure. Well, certainly as far as their ability to investigate as efficiently as
they normally would. >> Cunningham says that the coroner's determination the Christen had died by
suicide limited the investigator's ability to obtain search warrants. There was still elements of the
investigation law enforcement wanted to follow up on. >> In the winter of 2020, KBY began
collecting payouts from two insurance policies, $23,000 from Walmart and $100,000
from the US military. Meanwhile, investigators continued to learn more about his time in the military.
>> He was a reserve officer in the military. um that was never deployed. >> Wait, so wait a minute. So he was never
deployed to Central America. >> He had no overseas deployments that were told to us by the United States military
>> and he had no experience talking to informants as part of his job as an intelligence analyst.
>> Right. >> But even with what looked like blatant lies and an apparent motive to kill his
wife, police didn't arrest Colby. So in the year after Kristen's death, authorities watched as Kobe Trickle went
on with his life. [Music] >> It is very frustrating to me. >> I would run into him in public,
>> playing music at a restaurant in town. >> It made my skin crawl. >> So whatever storm you're in, keep
pushing forward. >> Posting Facebook self-help videos. get to the outside where you're free and
enjoy life. >> But then nearly 2 years after Kristen's death, a newly elected county attorney
decided to try something very new that he thought could put Kobe away for life. >> Go behind the scenes with the 48 hours
postmortem podcast. [Music] County Attorney Robert Anderson was just days into his new job in January of 2021
when assistant county attorney Aaron Cunningham and Detective JB Burke Holder pulled him aside.
>> JB and I both cornered him and said, "This is something that's clearly a homicide. help us to get the nails put
in this coffin. >> After reviewing the file, Anderson believed that the coroner got it wrong
and that this was a homicide. On July 14th, 2021, he charged Kobe Trickle with the murder of his wife Kristen.
>> Certainly, the insurance money provides motive. In addition, being in bed next
to your husband naked, shooting oneself in the face after having set alarms uh to get up the next day for work after
setting out candy for Halloween. These circumstances don't point to a woman who was planning a suicide.
>> Hey, uh I need you to step out of the car and come to the back of the car with
me soon. >> When police arrested Colby, he didn't seem surprised. >> Uh detectives, I have some questions for
you. Put you under arrest. You turn around, put your hands behind your back. Sure.
>> And denied killing Kristen. >> I didn't do it. And I know I know many people don't believe that and I respect
that. >> I believe him. >> You don't believe that he would shoot his wife? >> I do not.
>> Cassie Ziggler is one of Kobe Trickle's defense attorneys. >> He cares about his spiritual life. He's
a devoted Christian. I don't see that in him. this ability to connive and plan all of this.
>> Instead, she says Kristen had suffered from depression since childhood. >> I think that Kristen dealt with a lot
more pain in her life than people acknowledged. I don't think there's any worse rejection in life than to be
rejected by your biological mother. At an early age, that's exactly what happened.
>> Kobe's attorney felt confident going into the trial. The coroner was standing
by his assessment that Kristen's death was a suicide. >> You had the ability, you had the power
to change this determination if you wanted to prior to trial. >> Yes, >> you could have. But you didn't.
>> If I've made a determination, am I going to change it to homicide based on an accusation before a court
proceeding? No. So, County Attorney Anderson knew he had to do something to convince a jury that
Kristen didn't die by suicide. And that's when he pursued a different type of autopsy, a psychological one, an
autopsy of the mind. And to conduct it, Anderson hired a forensic psychologist, Dr. Ashley Christensen. her job to
determine Kristen's state of mind leading up to her death. >> Being unable to speak with them because
they're of course no longer here. They have to speak with their family, their friends, their co-workers. They review
any social media diaries, journals, um anything that they can. >> Christensson's conclusions would
eventually take center stage at Kobe Trickle's trial. It was September 2023. members of the jury
>> and prosecutor Cunningham began by telling the jury that Kristen Trickle was murdered for the oldest reasons in
the world. >> This case is as simple as ABC C. A an affair, B a breakdown of control, and
Cold hard cash. >> Col's attorney disputed that. may proceed whenever you're ready to see
her. >> Thank you, your honor. >> Cassie Ziggler says Kobe's alleged affair was really just an online
flirtation. I don't think there was a plan to have this long-term intimate affair.
>> She also denies that Kobe plotted to kill Kristen for cash. And about that Google search into the life insurance
payout, Ziggler says Kobe doesn't remember doing that search, but she acknowledges he had been filling out
paperwork around that time for his own military life insurance. And if he did do it, maybe that's why. It's just a
coincidence that this is happening days before his life. >> Unfortunately, so yeah, bad timing.
At trial, the jury learned that Kobe Trickle had not only collected more than $120,000
from two life insurance policies on his wife, he had already gone through it. >> I think he had spent all of the money in
approximately 8 months. >> What did he spend the money on? When detective JB Burkeholder took the
stand, he was asked to describe one expenditure in particular. >> There's a 1,942
payment to True Touch Dolls. Were you able to determine what that was? >> This is a company that made and
manufactures and distributes life-size sex dolls. Kobe's attorney says Colby was having
trouble sleeping alone and was quite open about the purchase. >> He went and talked to his mother about
it. If you're going to buy it, >> yeah, if you're going to buy a sex toy, a grown man's not going to go talk to
his mother about this sex doll he's going to buy. >> What was your reaction to that?
>> Disgusted. Just disgusted. >> It was described at trial that he needed this doll for comfort.
>> For comfort and warmth. We have electric blankets that we use for that. >> When Brandt Rice took the stand, he told
the jury that his niece had become more assertive in her relationship with her husband in the months before her death.
>> I feel that she had really begun to stand up for herself. We were proud of her for that.
>> And there were texts, says Cunningham, that seemed to support that Kobe feared
he was losing control over Kristen. On April 8th, 2019, when Colby texted that Kristen seemed different and pushy with
things, she responded, >> "I'm just deciding to stick up for myself just like you. I'm taking control
of the situation." >> And then prosecutors called their star witness, Dr. Ashley Christensen.
>> By the time of her death, there was a lot of data suggesting that she had a lot of hope.
>> Dr. Christensen testified that Kristen talked to family members about future plans and seemed optimistic.
>> She wanted to open her own either pet boarding or or dog grooming business and
had discussed his goal for opening her business. >> But Christensen also testified that she
interviewed Colby for her report and he offered what sounded like a reason why Kristen might have been stressed. He
told the doctor Kristen knew about his online relationship with that other woman.
>> He reported that they had lost discuss that relationship the week of her death.
>> But remember in his police interview, Kobe had told investigators that he didn't think Kristen knew.
>> When did Kristen find out about that relationship? >> Not that I know about. >> So which is it? Did she know or she
didn't know? >> I believe she knew. Whether or not Kristen knew, Dr. Christensen told the jury she believed
that at the time of her death, Kristen was at a low risk for suicide. >> It is my opinion that it is relatively
less likely that her death was the result of suicide. >> I love those words, relatively less
likely. That doesn't tell me anything. We can't know the mind of someone who's going to end their life. Defense
attorney Ziggler does not think the report should have been allowed in as evidence. She points out that Dr.
Christensen, who never met Kristen Trickle, did interviews and prepared her report nearly 2 years after Kristen's
death. And Ziegler believes people's memories change over time. >> That is a long time to go back and talk
to people about Kristen. But prosecutors thought there was another piece of evidence that could
bring them a guilty verdict. What do you think is the most powerful evidence against Kobby Trickle? Chat now
with the 48 Hours team on Facebook and X. Nearly four years have passed since Kristen Trickle died from a gunshot
wound to her head. >> How would you describe the last four years? >> Hellish. [Music]
>> On September 22nd, 2023, it was Kobe Trickle's last chance to convince a jury that he had nothing to
do with his wife's death. He decided not to testify, but his attorney, Cassie Ziegler, called his mother, Tina Kryer,
to the stand. >> Is it fair to say that Kristen was pretty reserved at first when he met
her? >> Yeah. Very to herself. >> Kryer described her daughter-in-law as a woman who rarely revealed her feelings.
>> Couldn't read her. Very um emotionless. It's a drastically different Kristen says attorney Ziegler than the one her
family describes. >> By their explanation, just the happiest, most joyful person never stops smiling.
She almost is walking on water. I mean, when the reality is we have no idea how she's really feeling now. You find out
he's having an emotional relationship with someone else online. I just I can imagine that being the last straw. But
in his final argument to the jurors, prosecutor Aaron Cunningham shows them the weapon that killed Kristen and says
she couldn't have fired it. >> Members of the jury, this doesn't add up. The state is going to demonstrate it
to you. >> Prosecutor Cunningham showed us with a similar gun. If you look at the autopsy
photos, you see a little divot at the 3:00 mark, which is believed by the corner to be the sight imprint of the
gun. >> And I knew Kristen was right-handed. The natural way a right-handed person would
hold a gun to their head for suicide would be something like this, or maybe something like this, putting the sight
mark somewhere between 9:00 and 6:00. So, for the sight mark to have wound up over at the 3:00 angle would be very
unnatural. >> Cunningham showed us how he believes Kobe Trickle shot his wife while she
slept next to him. >> It would be consistent with the placement of the site mark that he would
have grabbed the gun from his nightstand, rolled over in bed, and placed the gun just underneath her chin
and pulled the trigger. >> So, if you keep it here, then this then would explain. correct appears on her
neck here. >> As the case went to the jury, Seagler had hoped that they would still have too
many doubts. How significant is it the fact that the coroner went to trial, still saying it was a suicide when the
the prosecutors are saying it's a homicide? >> Yeah, it's huge. We have to show doubt.
That's reasonable. And I think there's plenty of that. Do you? >> That's what Kristen's family feared as
well. >> All they have to do is convince one of those 12 >> that they have a reasonable doubt. What
are we going to do if he walks out a free man? >> They don't have to wait long. Less than
2 hours later, there was a verdict. >> Count one. We the jury find the defendant guilty of premeditated murder
in the first degree of Kristen Trickle. >> Kobe Trickle was found guilty for firstdegree premeditated murder and
interference with law enforcement falsely reporting information. >> What do you remember of the verdict?
What did you hear? >> Just feeling like I could breathe. >> Yeah. >> Just feeling a breath. the relief for
safety for our family. >> I feel like we got our life back. >> Yeah. >> After the verdict, we spoke with coroner
Lyall Nord Hook, who said he planned to amend Kristen Trickle's death certificate to now read homicide.
He admitted he had decided on suicide before talking to anyone in Kristen's family or seeing the weapon used to kill
her. But I'm a little surprised. Wouldn't that have been important for you to make to know the size of the
weapon to be able to make your death investigation determination? >> The police should have all that
information and it's usually correlated with the pathologist, but it wasn't in this case.
>> The fact that he had done research on insurance. Were you aware of that? >> No.
>> Were you aware that they found evidence that he was having an online affair? >> No, they didn't share that with me
either. If you had known that, would you have left that as suicide? >> No. >> Investigators acknowledge they should
have done a better job keeping him informed. On November 20th, 2023, Kobe Trickle
returned to court for sentencing, admitting only that he could have been a better husband.
Something that I cannot apologize for is harming Kristen that morning because I cannot apologize for what I didn't do.
Regardless of that fact, I still take partial blame for that morning. I always wonder if she would still be here had I
been a better husband. >> Judge Glenn Braun sentenced Kobe Trickle. >> The court will sentence you to life in
prison with no possibility of parole for 50 years. With Kobe Trickle in prison, the Ricers
say their family is finally beginning to grieve the young woman gone way too soon.
[Music] >> Kristen's cousin Chloe, who grew up with Kristen, wrote a song for her.
[Music] >> How often do you think about Kristen? >> All the time. Every day. >> Every day. You know, we drive by that
little house. >> The house where Kristen one day hoped to start her dream business.
You call it Kristen's house, don't you? >> Yeah. >> She had a future. She had found her
faith again. When you were with her, you felt loved, a beautiful heart, a gentle, gentle
spirit, and >> she was just an amazing girl. [Music] [Music] New CBS next. A young girl found dead in
a swamp. >> Did this look like an accident or something else? Something entirely
different? >> A decades old mystery with a surprising answer. >> Oh no. Oh no. >> I never would have guessed how this
ended. 48 hours is all new CBS next and streaming on Paramount Plus. [Music]

Erin Moriarty investigates potential murder cases. Watch the YouTube mini-marathon, which includes "The Strange Case of Kurt Sonnenfeld," "Death by Text" and "Kristen Trickle: Autopsy of the Mind."

00:00 The Strange Case of Kurt Sonnenfeld 40:30 "Death by Text 1:22:48 Kristen Trickle: Autopsy of the Mind.

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "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

Kurt Sonnenfeld's case raises questions about his wife's suspicious death and his life in Argentina after charges were dropped.

Key points

The Fight for Justice. Nancy's family has been waiting for justice for over 14 years after her death.
Conflicting Evidence. New evidence emerges, including gunshot residue and witness statements against Kurt.
Kurt Sonnenfeld's Controversial Claims. Kurt claims he was a witness to a conspiracy at Ground Zero, raising eyebrows.
Extradition Denied. A judge in Argentina rejects the extradition request for Kurt Sonnenfeld, citing human rights.
Conrad's Struggles. Conrad reveals his feelings of sickness and longing for his mother.
A Tragic Discovery. Conrad's body is found in his truck, leading to an investigation.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

He is innocent. There's nothing else to say.

Kurt's staunchest supporter defends him.

3:10WatchSep 20, 2025

Tension

65/ 100Some tension

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