The Devil's Twin | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] [Music] They call it the Taj Mahal. It's picturesque. It's beautiful. Until
you have to come here for a murder trial. Case 2011 CR 3314 people versus Daniel Dwalt.
>> The last time I was in this room was to uh make a determination whether Daniel
Dew Wild was guilty of murder. From the very beginning, it was clear that it was
a confusing case. It was old and that uh this was a murder case involving identical twins, Dan and David DeWild.
>> The prosecution's theory was that the two brothers conspired together to kill
Daniel's wife, Heather, and kept it a secret from pretty much everybody. It was a case that went cold in 2003.
[Music] My name is Robert Winer, Chief Deputy District Attorney, Jefferson County,
Colorado, lead prosecutor on the Dwild homicide. July 24th of 2003, Heather Dew Wild was
going over to her strange husband's house. Heather had two young children, Hannah and Jacob, and she would do
anything for her kids. She was supposed to sign a check. She also went over to pick up a set of insurance cards for her
children. The check was never endorsed. The cards were never picked up. She apparently arrived at the house and
then after that she was never seen or heard from again. So, um there's no evidence that she ever left the house.
>> You don't have any kind of murder weapon. >> Correct. You don't have any kind of
fingerprints from any suspects. >> Correct. >> You don't have any of Heather's blood in
the house where you believe she was murdered. >> Correct. There was no proverbial smoking
gun to tie Daniel to Heather's murder. During testimony, we had learned that they were watching crime shows
such like CSI and other forensic shows to figure out how to get away with murder.
>> We got nothing. Nobody cleans a car this good. There is no evidence. >> Daniel and David would watch those shows
and formulate their plan. And they certainly did not leave any forensic evidence.
[Music] >> 12 of us coming here. We're getting along just fine. Then once we had to dig into the
evidence, things changed dramatically because the nature of the case was so circumstantial and there wasn't any real
hard physical evidence. You spend your time trying to piece it together >> and we went backwards. We went forward
and then we started putting it up on the walls, surrounding ourselves with it. >> I had no idea how the deliberations were
going. >> It was really difficult. People were emotional. People were getting on one
another's nerves. >> There's a lot of pacing. There's a lot of just nervous anxiety.
>> There was some crying. There was some some yelling that went on. >> You start thinking, okay, what are they
thinking about? What are they hung up on? Why are they taking so long? >> We took a poll, you know, six and six,
and where do we go from there? Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] This is basically the route I took in
the evening to come over here to look for her. >> Dave Springer is driving the same route
he did on July 24th, 2003. >> And I was looking between the houses. >> But on that day, the retired Denver cop
was in a frantic search for his own daughter. When you were just driving around, what were you hoping you'd see?
>> Maybe I would see my daughter's car move and see her somewhere. >> 30-year-old Heather Dew Wild thought
she'd be safe going to her soon to be ex-husband's house in Edgewater, Colorado, if she took along her two
children, Jacob and Hannah. She planned to just stop by to take care of the insurance cards and the check.
>> I told her not to go there, and I didn't think she would, but she did. And then
she vanished. >> As you're driving around, you have a sinking feeling. >> Yeah. I really had a bad bad feeling
about it. >> Dave Springer says he had been worried what his son-in-law Dan Dew Wild might
do. As the final divorce approached, >> he wanted to keep things under control, his control, and uh that was slipping
away from him. And I think he was getting more and more desperate and more and more uh hostile. So when Heather
didn't return after going to Dan's house, her anxious mother, Carol Springer, thought the worst and called
him. >> He told me that she went shopping. And I says, "Well, that's not true." That's
what I told him. I says, "No, that's not true." >> We knew immediately that was a lie.
>> Why? >> Cuz she before she left the house, she didn't take any money with her or a
credit card. And he said she went shopping, >> right? >> How much sense did that make to you?
>> Well, it didn't make any sense. >> And Heather would never leave her children behind, even with their dad,
says her sister, Rebecca Barger. >> There's no way she would leave without her kids. No way. I just instantly knew
he did something to her. >> You were sure it was Dan? >> Mhm. Heather's mother rushed over to Dan's
house to pick up her grandchildren. And what was going through your mind at that point?
>> Let me get the kids and be gone. I wanted to get out of there. >> The kids, only 3 and 5 years old,
couldn't say where their mother had gone. Local police stopped at Dan's house and looked around, but didn't find
anything suspicious. But Heather's father, the veteran cop, was convinced something terrible had
happened. >> Dave was obviously extremely concerned. >> The next morning, Mark Krider, a
detective with the Denver PD, was pulled in to assist the Edgewater Police. Heather was now officially a missing
person. >> It was a little unusual because it was a Denver police officer's daughter who was
missing. And that does personalize a little bit more. Krider learned that after a rocky six-year marriage, Heather
and Dan Dew were just days from finalizing their divorce. >> I had learned that the divorce was
getting a little nasty. >> And that Dan was upset when Heather was awarded temporary custody of Jacob and
Hannah, and he was ordered to pay child support. >> He was very angry over that because he
thought he was going to lose his home. He couldn't pay all his bills. That's when twin brother David came to the
rescue by moving in along with his girlfriend Roseanne to help Dan pay the bills. Born a minute and a half apart,
Dan and David were inseparable, even working as mechanics for the transit authority.
So, the first stop for Krider was the Dew Wild's house. Heather's husband Dan answered the door. Quickly into our
conversation, he had mentioned that he had had an attorney, which I thought was a little odd, and his attorney told him
that he shouldn't talk to the police. What lights in my mind is, why do you have an attorney? This is a missing
person. We're trying to help find your wife. >> And when David Dew pulled into the
driveway, Dan made sure his twin brother didn't talk to the police either. >> Dan walks over as if to physically grab
his brother. And as he's walking over, he's yelling for him not to talk. He doesn't have to talk to get inside.
I'm thinking now we don't have a missing person. We have a murder. But without the DeW's cooperation,
Crider couldn't search their house. By the time police got a warrant, Heather had been missing for 6 days.
Was there any sign of a a murder weapon in the house? >> No, there was not. >> Any blood?
>> No, there was not. >> Any sign that Heather had been in there or been killed in there?
>> No, there was no sign of that at all. >> But investigators soon learned that David was taking his Suburban 15 miles
away to be repaired. >> Why? He's a mechanic. His brother's a mechanic. Did it pique my interest?
Absolutely. Investigators wanted to check out the vehicle. >> What were you looking for?
>> Uh, some form of decomposing human scent. In other words, had there been a body in there.
>> Deputy Sheriff Al Nelson and his dogs searched the Suburban. >> They hid on the rear end. I believe it
would be the driver's side rear door area. >> And that's the person that maybe Heather's body had been in there.
something had been in there, right? >> Krider's next step was to confront David Dew Wild.
>> We said, "Hey, there's the decomposing body in your vehicle." And he talked around things. He talked around things.
And at one point, we put it to him directly and said, "Did you kill Heather?" His head's kind of down. He's
a little emotional. He says he needs to talk to an attorney. And he walked into his house.
>> Crider now believed that both brothers had killed Heather. And what convinced
him even more was when one day later, David suddenly married his longtime girlfriend, Roseanne. Suddenly, you
know, Dave says to you, "Let's get married." Doesn't that seem strange? >> It um at the time it didn't. Really, it
didn't because I've beenounding him and then Heather went missing and it wasn't a happy time. So, you know, we didn't do
that. And um so I I I griped a lot and then all of a sudden, you know, it's like, well, let's go get married then.
So it didn't it didn't seem strange at all to me. >> It never occurred to you. He might be
thinking, well, she won't be able to talk to the cops. She won't be able to testify against me if I marry her.
>> No, I I don't know the law. >> We're looking at the rear of a white four-door
Nissan Sentra. Two weeks after Heather disappeared, her car was found in this apartment complex just five miles from
the Dew Wild home, but no Heather. >> Inside the rear back seat, there are two baby car seats.
>> Crime Lab investigators searched the Nissan, but found nothing helpful. >> Each and every hour it's out in the
environment, in the elements, we lose a little bit more evidence. When the car was found, did that make
things worse? >> It worse. Yeah. That was uh that was a major breakdown for me right there.
>> Why? >> You knew at that point for sure she was gone. >> One month later, Curtis Johnson was
moving dirt on this canyon road. This is identical to what I was doing that day >> when he uncovered Heather's body.
>> Basically, the body would have been on that side right there. This is where the
body would have been sitting. >> Heather had been wrapped in trash bags. There was tape on her face. Her hands
and neck were bound with rope. Her death was ruled a homicide, but her body was so decomposed, the cause of death was
undetermined, and investigators still didn't have enough evidence to arrest either of the
brothers. And let's be honest, detective, it really does look like they're going to get away with this.
>> Oh, absolutely. [Music] The police were saying that they were doing what they could and they were
looking into it. After a while, you just think, is anything ever going to happen?
The Springer family couldn't understand why the police were dragging their feet in arresting the primary suspect in
Heather's death, her husband, Dan Dew Wild. >> Here you are, a member of the Denver
Police Department. How much were you allowed to know about the investigation into
>> Absolutely nothing. At times I would think, well, they're really not doing anything. They're just telling me
they're doing something and they're just letting it slide. You do start to lose hope, but you try to stay in there. I
did. >> Their prayers were answered in 2005, nearly two years after Heather's murder,
when Scott's story became Jefferson County's new district attorney. >> They just poured their hearts out about
how frustrated they were, uh, how they yearned for justice for Heather. >> Story promised to reopen the
investigation. When you made that promise, did you realize what you were getting yourself into?
>> Did you have any idea? >> Not entirely. >> He assembled a task force and put investigator Russ Boatright in charge.
>> What was it that drove you drove all of you to try to get this case solved? >> It just at first blush, I think you knew
what what the case was. Um, and it just it seemed solvable. It seemed like it was right there at your fingertips.
>> But after combing through 1,500 pages of reports and retesting all the forensic evidence,
>> I don't even know how many times we went back through things and double check
things. And we had no DNA. We really had no physical evidence. >> Not that DNA would have helped.
Remember, Dan and Dave are identical twins. >> They could have the same DNA. So if we
would have found, you know, one of the Dwild's hairs in that car, you know, that was not going to be the smoking gun
piece of evidence. >> Along with the brothers, the prosecution team was also convinced that Roseanne,
who was living in the house, had to be involved. >> We really believed that that she had to
know what went on. She couldn't just be in that house. She just couldn't be totally ignorant of what what happened.
There was that suspiciously timed marriage to David. >> It was the day after David is confronted
on the front porch and told that the cadaavver dog hit on on his Suburban. >> And what Russ Boatright says Roseanne
told others was the real reason they tied the knot. >> She had made the statement um she had to
marry him so she couldn't testify against him. And I really I don't know what else that means other than what it
sounds like it means. I mean, it sounds incriminate. >> Yes. >> Incriminating or not, investigators
still didn't have enough evidence to arrest any of the DeWilds. And as the years passed, David
Springer's frustration grew. >> How angry were you? >> Very angry. I would be screaming angry
at times. After pleadings from the family in 2009, six years after Heather was murdered,
Russ Boatright was assigned to the case full time. >> And that really was the turning point.
The file would grow to 30,000 pages, filling more than 15 boxes as Boat Wright and his team methodically built a
circumstantial case piece by piece, but clearly the killer or killers have been careful. How would you describe how this
car was found? >> It was clean at the time. Heather's car was so clean, there was no evidence that
she had ever been in it. >> We didn't find any evidence of Heather's DNA being present inside or outside the
vehicle. Uh nor did we find any fingerprints or anything else to indicate that that Heather um used that
vehicle. >> What he did have was this. >> This DVD is a copy of a videotape that we recovered from the residence. a
sex tape that Dan and Heather made years earlier, showing Dan's fascination with
bondage and ropes. >> What we end up seeing in this videotape um are images of Daniel tying Heather up
in a very similar manner to how she was found. >> And this discovery, >> what we have here is Daniel's dating
profile from an online dating service. He described himself as a widow widowerower. The trouble is Heather's
body had not been found yet. >> What did that say? >> Well, that said he probably knew he was
a widowerower at that point. >> While the pieces of the puzzle clearly pointed at the Dew Wilds, prosecutor
Robert Winer still couldn't answer some important questions. >> We didn't know how she died. And you
know, the autopsy report didn't say how she died. >> You don't even know where she died. No,
>> you don't know exactly who killed her. >> We didn't. >> But when Winer took what evidence he had
to a grand jury, he got an indictment. And so on December 14th, 2011, more than 8 years after Heather's body was found
on that canyon road, Dan, David, and Roseanne De Wild were finally arrested for her murder. You still have a pretty
weak case. >> Yeah. I mean, >> you have enough to indict these three, but now you got to you got to prove
these three, >> right? And that was kind of my my thought is now the work begins.
>> Dan's attorneys, Tom Ward and France Simonette, were feeling very confident as they prepared for trial. Was there
any physical evidence that tied Dan to the death of his wife? >> Not a shred. none
>> until they were hit with a bombshell. >> And how did that change the case for the
two of you? >> It completely flipped it upside down. [Music] [Music] As prosecutors prepared for trial,
district attorney Scott Story worried about their purely circumstantial case. >> In today's world,
>> with like the CSI shows and those kinds of shows, jurors want more than just circumstantial evidence.
>> Their best hope to somehow get one of the DeWilds to turn on the others. Investigators say it was just a matter
of finding the weakest link. Did you think Roseanne was going to turn against her husband and her brother-in-law?
>> I thought there was a possibility Roseanne would. >> And did she? >> No. >> Instead, in a stunning turn of events,
it was Roseanne's husband, David, who suddenly broke down. 9 years after Heather was killed, David Dew Wild
admitted that he hit her body after his twin brother, Dan, killed her. I just fell to pieces.
>> Roseanne claims that until that moment, she never guessed the two brothers were
involved in Heather's death. >> It's hard to explain my feeling. Um, denial. No, it's it's not true, but it
was true. >> With David finally ready to talk, it fell to Russ Boatight to uncover all the
details. According to David, Dan began planning Heather's death in April of 2003 after
he was ordered to pay child support. >> And that's when I started to realize that this was actually a wellthoughtout
plan. >> But why would David go through with this and help his brother? >> I think David describes it as I'm trying
to talk him out of it most of the time. But he said when um Daniel told him, look, I'm doing this with you or without
you. He said at that point he made a decision to help his brother. He said he knew if his brother did this on his own,
he would get caught. >> I'm investigator Boat Right. Today's date is August 4th, 2012. Present is
David Dew Wild. He's going to walk through what occurred um during the time that Heather was murdered. a clean
shaven David DeWild agreed to take investigators back to the scene of the crime, the Dew Wild's garage
to show exactly where and how Heather was killed. >> You could tell it impacted him. You
could tell he was upset going back in there again. >> Let's start at the beginning with where
you >> a warning. Some of what David is about to tell is disturbing to hear. >> We're going to jump ahead to the point
where you're waiting for Heather's arrival. Okay. Okay. >> According to the plan, Heather and the
kids arrived at noon on July 24th, 2003. As Dan went to meet them, David says he
tried to stop his brother. >> And I I stop him right when he's walking up and I'm in his way and I say, "Dan,
don't do this." But he was very calm. >> As the children played in the house, Heather followed her husband Dan into
the garage. Prosecutor Robert Winer believes Dan lured her there with a promise to return the sex tape the
couple had made. >> He knew he had to use something to get her into that garage. And that was that
tape because she wanted that tape back. >> The door opens. Heather walks through
and she says, "What did you want to show me out here?" And my brother walks through, closes the
door, grabs her by like both shoulders, throws her down hard, and she it just hit her like like pretty
hard where she didn't know that was going to happen. And then she goes to get up like this
and she looks at me and I look at her. >> At that moment, David could have stopped
Heather's murder. But he didn't. >> She knew something was going to happen, was just about to happen, and kind of
looked to him to say, you know, help me here. And he said, I didn't do anything.
I didn't do a thing to help her. >> And he takes a mallet off the counter and this she's trying to get back up.
Whacks her. Drops. He tosses a hammer down. He takes his noose, puts it around her neck.
>> Dan then hanged Heather from the rafters. >> I guess cinches it up, comes over and pulls on the rope.
>> My jaw dropped. Are you kidding me? At that point, he began to stage her body
by tying her and making it look like it was a bonded sex act gone bad. Daniel proceeds to place her body in trash
bags. >> As Heather's children continued to play elsewhere in the house, David abandoned
Heather's car at the apartment complex parking lot. By the time David returned, Dan had already placed his wife's body
in the back of the Suburban. >> In there, and I just just make sure she's not breathing or anything, you
know. I just I put my hand on her is what I remember. Okay. As David tells it, the brothers were
bound by their terrible secret. And he revealed how he and Dan managed to erase all evidence of Heather's brutal murder.
>> They were watching crime shows, the CSI type shows, any any crime shows that they could watch and learn.
So, they double gloved. They had two sets of gloves on because they didn't want to leave any trace evidence. They
didn't want to leave blood. >> I'd say it was a single strike to the head. Explains the lack of spatter at
the scene. First hits free. Killer knew what he was doing. >> And Heather's body might never have been
found if David had made it to a pre-planned burial site. Instead, transmission problems with his Suburban
forced him to hide her along that canyon road where Curtis Johnson discovered her.
The prosecution believed they finally knew how Heather had been killed. But could they trust David?
>> I mean, David's lied for nine years. Um, >> he's a liar. >> He is a liar, and he's certainly capable
of lying. >> So, before they gave him a deal, David had to pass a polygraph. How did he do?
>> He passed on the issues as far as killing Heather. But were there some areas that he he
failed or that were in? >> He had he had some issues on some other questions, primarily the involvement of
others >> on the issue of Roseanne. >> Yes. >> But Roseanne will not go on trial after
all. Although prosecutors maintain she was not part of any deal. After spending more than eight months in jail, all
charges against her were dismissed for lack of evidence. Do you have any regret about putting her in jail for eight
months? >> Oh, no. I was uh very uh confident that uh after the fact that she had some
knowledge and that very likely she had some participation of one degree or another. Um we just couldn't prove it
beyond a reasonable doubt. >> It's hard to believe that a woman who was in the house when Heather was killed
and was married to one of the killers would know nothing, see nothing. But that's exactly what Roseanne says.
Roseanne, did you have anything to do with Heather's death and her disappearance?
>> I did not. I had nothing to do with it. I didn't know anything. >> You think there's still some people who
think you do? >> I'm sure. >> As they head to trial, the prosecution is counting on David to convict his twin
brother. >> I mean, it's kind of like dancing with the devil >> in this situation. We I guess had agreed
to make a deal with the devil's twin. [Laughter] N and a half years after Heather Dew
Wild was murdered, her husband Dan finally goes on trial at the Jefferson County Courthouse.
Defense attorney Tom Ward. There was a kind of tension in the air that I've never felt in a courtroom before.
>> There are no cameras allowed, but the courtroom is packed. >> I was worried. I didn't know what I was
going to find out. >> The state's most important witness, David Dew Wild, is about to testify
against his identical twin brother. Without forensic evidence, the whole case rides on David. I watched him come
in and I was um holding my fingers and crossing my toes. And >> prosecutor Robert Winer, you saw him
look at his brother. >> Yeah. >> And you're wondering, "Oh my gosh, will he lose his nerve?"
>> That's exactly what I was thinking. And then I asked him, "Who killed Heather?"
>> And what did David say? >> He pointed to his brother. David tells the court that it was his
twin brother who killed his wife in the garage and that he just went along with it. But Dan's defense attorney claims
his client is completely innocent. That Dan never knew where Heather went after she left his house on July 24th, 2003.
>> She didn't say exactly where she was going. He expected her back in a couple of hours and she never came back and he
didn't know what happened to her. The story Dan told was always consistent. It never changed.
>> In fact, Dan's defense is that it's David who killed Heather. Just look at David's actions that day.
>> David, by his own admission, uh, is responsible for getting rid of the car. He's responsible for getting rid of the
body. All of those things are very hard to believe that someone would do if they
weren't the perpetrator. But why would David kill his brother's wife? >> David Dew Wild uh says that he always
felt that Heather was attracted to him, that there was a possibility that after Dan and Heather's divorce was final,
that he and Heather would be able to get together. There's no other evidence of any of this besides uh what David Dew
Wild says about it. So, I question whether he had some sort of an obsession with Heather
>> and he killed her because she wouldn't respond to him. >> It's possible. >> But prosecutor Winer says that's absurd.
>> I don't think there's any way David could have done it by himself. In looking at the dynamics, it became
pretty clear that David was set up by Daniel. Daniel is the controlling one. David wasn't going to lose his house.
Daniel was losing his house. David had absolutely no motive, none whatsoever, to to kill Heather.
>> What's more, says Winer, why would a man who got away with a murder for almost a
decade suddenly tell investigators a story where he implicates himself? >> He throws himself under the bus more
than anybody else does. He could have very easily fashioned a story that made this look like an accident. But defense
attorney Tom Ward claims David turned against his brother Dan because he got a great plea deal. Instead of life, he got
just 12 years. >> He was able to give a statement that completely pinned the entire murder on
his brother Dan and at the same time completely exonerated his wife Roseanne, whose case was dismissed.
>> What's more, Ward says it's David who has a history of violence. He was married once before and attacked his
wife. >> David at one point tried to choke his wife and had his hands around her neck
until she passed out and said, "Next time I'll kill you, bitch." >> The jury won't hear the most shocking
claim David makes against his twin brother. He says that Dan proposed teaming up to kill each other's
ex-wives. That in Dan's mind, committing murder beats paying child support. >> I was shocked when David told me that. I
thought, "You have got to be kidding me." Apparently, Daniel, according to David, had had worked the whole thing
out in his head. >> The judge rules that information is just too prejuditial. Instead, it's left to prosecutor Winer
in his closing to remind the jury which twin he's convinced was pulling the strings. Dan Dew Wild is a cool,
calculated killer. >> On Friday, November 16th, 2012, after a 2-week trial, the case goes to the jury.
>> One of the first things we did was take kind of a straw poll. There were six people who voted that they weren't sure
and six people who thought straight away he was guilty. >> As time goes, I'm getting more and more
nervous. Are you worried that the jury is just going to not know who actually killed
Heather? Yes, that occurred to me in the courtroom that it's going to be a problem and it
was [Music] on the second day of deliberations. The vote is now 10 guilty, two not sure.
>> The two jurors came back and they were completely shut down. They said, "We don't think that there's enough
evidence." >> The holdouts wouldn't talk to us, but the others say it all comes down to
David Dew Wild's credibility. Did he downplay his own involvement in Heather's murder to get a plea deal and
get his wife Roseanne out of prison? They felt that David had too much to gain. So, David could have done it. And
I think the point that the other 10 of us had arrived at was it didn't matter at that point in time because they were
both involved. >> I think they must have felt like they needed to know exactly what happened and
they had to have a piece of direct evidence of that happening. >> Yeah. >> And the rest of us didn't. It wasn't
their job to connect the dots. >> The prosecutors had to do it for them. >> I was incredibly frustrated because I
had committed to think for myself and I felt that they didn't do their duty. >> The jurors are able to agree on two
lesser charges. They all believe that Dan Dewild planned to kill his wife and that he helped cover up the crime, but
they're hopelessly deadlocked on whether Dan is the twin who murdered Heather. Darren, how heated did it get?
>> I walked out and I said, "If you guys are truly done, then we need to go back
and tell him that we're done." >> How did you all feel when you went into the courtroom?
>> I was angry, >> discouraged. >> Dan Dewald is convicted only of conspiracy, an accessory to murder.
Jurors failed to convict him of firstdegree murder. >> What was your reaction? >> We're doing it again.
>> Oh, right away. >> Oh, absolutely. What were you feeling? >> Pretty disappointed.
>> Yeah. >> He was convicted on two counts. He's going to prison for a while. >> Mhm.
>> Yeah. But he'll get out and that's a problem. >> You want him to go away for life,
>> right? We've been fighting this long. We'll keep fighting. >> The plan is to retry Dan Dwild on
first-degree murder. But just one month later, fearful of ending up in prison with no
chance of parole, Dan takes a deal and pleads guilty to seconddegree murder. [Music]
On February 28th, 2013, Dan Dew Wild is back in Judge Christopher Munch's courtroom.
>> Let's call Keepa versus Daniel Dw. This time, cameras are allowed. >> Today, we're here for sentencing.
>> Dan De Wild comes as close as he ever has to admitting he killed his wife. >> I pled guilty to knowingly causing the
death of another person. >> He also agrees not to appeal. >> You're giving up the right to appeal.
You understand? Judge Munch has nothing kind to say about the father who destroyed so many lives, including the
children he claims to love. >> He killed their mother. He did it brutally and then he lied about it for
years. >> I'd just like to say that Daniel destroyed the life of his children. He
destroyed the life of his own family members. All for an unnecessary greed and ego
that accomplished nothing. >> Come on, you guys. >> Not in the courtroom are the children.
Jacob and Hannah are now teenagers living with their grandparents who are raising them the way they think their
daughter would. >> Do you sometimes think about how much she missed out on with her kids?
>> Of course. >> Of course. Yeah. All the time. And I always think, you know, how proud she'd
be. [Music] >> After almost a decade, Heather's family wonders if they'll finally hear from the
man who caused so much heartache. >> You have the right to say anything you want me to consider. Now, if you don't
want to say anything, you don't have to. >> Dan Dew Wild has a chance to apologize,
much like his twin brother did in the same courtroom weeks earlier. >> You know, David did apologize to the
Springers. I feel horrible about the pain. All I can say is I'm sorry. I'm just sorry for all the pain it caused.
>> Daniel never did. Never did. >> Is it true that you do not want to exercise that right?
>> That's true. >> It would have taken nothing for Daniel at sentencing just to turn to the
Springer family and just say, "I'm sorry. It's just not in Daniel's character to do that."
>> Do you think Daniel feels any remorse? >> No. In fact, David Dew Wild told investigator Russ Boatright he believes
Dan enjoyed inflicting pain on Heather's family. >> He thought Daniel went to bed every
night knowing that Dave Springer thought he killed his daughter and couldn't prove it. And he said, "Daniel, I know
got satisfaction from that." >> The defendant then is remanded to be delivered to the Department of
Corrections to serve his sentence. Judge Munch sentences Dan De Wild to 74 years
in prison. >> I'm glad he got the length of sentence he did and he deserved more, but that's
it. >> It has taken Scott's story eight years, his entire two terms as district attorney to get justice for Heather. Was
it worth it? >> It's absolutely worth it. Many times politicians can't can't fulfill their
promises. This is one promise that was kept. >> But the question remains, just how close
did Dan Dew Wild come to getting away with murder? If David had not testified if he had not turned on his brother,
could you have convicted Dan? >> Based on the evidence we saw without that, I don't know that I could have.
>> I don't think any jury would have probably found him guilty. Those two men would have gotten away with murder.
>> Probably. >> Probably. Yeah. [Music] >> CBS Next. >> We talk about our physical health. She
was just a little spitfire. There are 17 impact wounds. It's passionate. It's premeditated. It's
cold. >> Must be some mad man out there. 48 hours crime time double feature continues next
on CBS.

A young mother is dead and identical twin brothers are the suspects. Did studying TV crime shows help them come close to pulling off the perfect crime? "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty reports. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

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

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Brief Summary

Daniel Dewild and his twin brother David are implicated in the murder of Heather Dewild, leading to a complex trial with emotional turmoil.

Key points

The Murder Case of Heather Dew Wild. A complex case involving identical twins and a missing mother unfolds in court.
The Discovery of Heather's Body. Heather's body is found wrapped in trash bags, leading to a homicide investigation.
David's Shocking Confession. David Dew Wild admits to his involvement in Heather's murder after years of silence.
The Unraveling of a Family Secret. Roseanne learns the truth about her husband's involvement in Heather's death.
David's Betrayal. David could have stopped Heather's murder but chose not to help her.
The Trial Begins. Dan Dew Wild finally goes on trial for the murder of his wife, Heather.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I had no idea how the deliberations were going.

Juror's uncertainty during the trial process.

3:21WatchNov 25, 2025

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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