1 00:00:05,896 --> 00:00:08,172 [phone ringing] 2 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:11,275 [operator speaking] 3 00:00:11,275 --> 00:00:12,275 [woman sobbing] 4 00:00:12,275 --> 00:00:14,172 [operator speaking] 5 00:00:14,517 --> 00:00:16,689 [woman speaking] 6 00:00:16,689 --> 00:00:17,724 [operator speaking] 7 00:00:17,724 --> 00:00:19,172 [woman speaking] 8 00:00:19,172 --> 00:00:21,379 [operator speaking] 9 00:00:21,379 --> 00:00:22,965 [woman sobbing] 10 00:00:25,896 --> 00:00:27,172 MELSON: Roberta was a fun person. 11 00:00:27,172 --> 00:00:29,379 She was always laughing. 12 00:00:29,448 --> 00:00:32,067 Just amazing how things can go so wrong. 13 00:00:32,137 --> 00:00:35,482 [Roberta speaking] 14 00:00:35,482 --> 00:00:37,172 [man speaking] 15 00:00:37,241 --> 00:00:39,068 [Roberta speaking] 16 00:00:39,896 --> 00:00:43,034 HARMON: Roberta is one of those evil people out there. 17 00:00:43,896 --> 00:00:46,551 Maybe at one point, she had goodness in her heart. 18 00:00:52,103 --> 00:00:53,586 But her heart turned to stone. 19 00:00:54,620 --> 00:00:56,655 She's a cold-hearted [bleep]. 20 00:00:58,103 --> 00:01:01,862 [theme music playing] 21 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:14,137 [light music playing] 22 00:01:18,620 --> 00:01:22,137 NARRATOR: It's wedding day for 47-year-old Roberta Bogart 23 00:01:23,724 --> 00:01:26,551 and 42-year-old Ken Samard. 24 00:01:35,413 --> 00:01:37,000 MELSON: When Ken and Roberta got married, 25 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:38,551 I was very happy for them. 26 00:01:39,793 --> 00:01:42,482 Roberta had been married before she met Ken 27 00:01:42,482 --> 00:01:43,793 and divorced. 28 00:01:43,862 --> 00:01:46,000 Ken was married twice before, 29 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:51,275 but Ken believed in true love -- after his divorce, 30 00:01:51,275 --> 00:01:54,482 he went through times where he thought, 31 00:01:54,551 --> 00:01:57,344 you know, there's nobody out there for me. 32 00:01:58,723 --> 00:02:01,448 And, uh -- and then he met Roberta. 33 00:02:02,620 --> 00:02:05,000 Ken was excited to get married again. 34 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:06,793 And Roberta was, too. 35 00:02:08,413 --> 00:02:12,689 She was always singing or just happy. 36 00:02:12,758 --> 00:02:14,068 She smiled a lot. 37 00:02:15,896 --> 00:02:19,965 LARSEN: So this is my dad and Roberta's wedding in Vegas. 38 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:22,517 It's a little funny at the beginning, because 39 00:02:22,517 --> 00:02:24,896 the preacher is asking, are you ready? 40 00:02:24,896 --> 00:02:27,068 And my dad says, "Well, yeah." 41 00:02:29,379 --> 00:02:32,862 No big deal. Come on. Let's get this going. 42 00:02:32,930 --> 00:02:35,000 -And you? Great. -Yes. 43 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:36,724 LARSEN: At the time that they got married, 44 00:02:36,724 --> 00:02:38,689 I was 15. 45 00:02:38,758 --> 00:02:42,586 We didn't know that they were going to get married. 46 00:02:42,586 --> 00:02:43,689 I just remember them coming home, 47 00:02:43,758 --> 00:02:45,655 and they were married, and that was that. 48 00:02:48,793 --> 00:02:50,275 MELSON: Danielle and Matthew couldn't go to 49 00:02:50,344 --> 00:02:55,275 the wedding, mostly because it was in Las Vegas. 50 00:02:55,275 --> 00:02:56,586 They were still young. 51 00:02:58,620 --> 00:03:01,241 LARSEN: I felt a little left out. 52 00:03:02,275 --> 00:03:05,793 However, I think it was just, 53 00:03:05,862 --> 00:03:08,586 neither of them wanted a really big wedding. 54 00:03:08,586 --> 00:03:10,379 Neither one of them were really 55 00:03:10,379 --> 00:03:12,344 the type that wanted to show off. 56 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:18,068 NARRATOR: Ken and Roberta live in Albany, Oregon. 57 00:03:18,137 --> 00:03:19,965 They met at work four years earlier. 58 00:03:21,413 --> 00:03:25,275 He was a millwright at the paper mill, 59 00:03:25,275 --> 00:03:30,000 and she was a secretary, and they had mutual friends. 60 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:32,724 So they would say to Ken, "Well, 61 00:03:32,724 --> 00:03:35,965 you need to maybe ask Roberta out for a date." 62 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,379 He really liked her, and he fell in love quick. 63 00:03:40,067 --> 00:03:43,586 NARRATOR: Ken's three children, Danielle, Matthew, and Bradley 64 00:03:43,586 --> 00:03:46,344 are quick to welcome Roberta to the family. 65 00:03:49,793 --> 00:03:53,000 LARSEN: Roberta was friendly. 66 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:55,103 She always had a smile on her face. 67 00:03:55,103 --> 00:03:58,862 She liked her football and wine. 68 00:03:59,896 --> 00:04:03,172 SAMARD: My first impression was, wow. 69 00:04:03,172 --> 00:04:06,275 Uh, that's not who I expected him to pick. 70 00:04:06,275 --> 00:04:08,482 He was always a little maybe rough around the edges. 71 00:04:08,482 --> 00:04:12,482 A little firm, a little, um, maybe opinionated 72 00:04:12,482 --> 00:04:16,724 or, um, just set in her ways. 73 00:04:16,724 --> 00:04:19,481 But I noticed a dramatic difference 74 00:04:19,481 --> 00:04:22,689 when they got together, for my dad's wellbeing, 75 00:04:22,689 --> 00:04:24,862 just his overall happiness. 76 00:04:26,103 --> 00:04:28,896 Ken and Roberta were fairly well suited as a couple. 77 00:04:28,896 --> 00:04:34,172 They were just a little bit, uh, a little bit alike. 78 00:04:34,241 --> 00:04:36,000 MELSON: They had a lot of fun together. 79 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:39,793 They'd laugh. Ken was a cook. 80 00:04:39,862 --> 00:04:41,689 He loved to cook, you know, 81 00:04:41,689 --> 00:04:44,034 so they worked together in the kitchen. 82 00:04:45,172 --> 00:04:50,275 They would go camping or just get a hotel room at the coast. 83 00:04:50,344 --> 00:04:52,344 He was head over heels for her. 84 00:04:53,482 --> 00:04:57,586 I believe he proposed in August. 85 00:04:57,586 --> 00:05:01,379 Then they were married on September 2nd. 86 00:05:01,379 --> 00:05:03,172 So it was pretty fast. 87 00:05:18,482 --> 00:05:21,448 The look on my dad's face just seems so genuine. 88 00:05:37,310 --> 00:05:41,000 LARSEN: Roberta seems happy, genuinely happy. 89 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:44,586 So I think it just -- for me, it just goes back to the whole 90 00:05:44,586 --> 00:05:49,482 mixed feelings of everything, because they seemed so happy. 91 00:05:49,482 --> 00:05:52,034 But then how could this happen? 92 00:05:54,517 --> 00:05:57,034 [cheers and applause] 93 00:05:58,517 --> 00:06:03,482 I graduated in June of 2003 from Sweet Home High School. 94 00:06:07,172 --> 00:06:09,172 LARSEN: And it was a great day. 95 00:06:09,172 --> 00:06:11,793 My dad was very excited that I was graduating. 96 00:06:11,862 --> 00:06:14,482 [loud cheering] 97 00:06:14,482 --> 00:06:17,275 Dad was always big on education. 98 00:06:17,275 --> 00:06:19,793 And that was one of his main things that he drilled 99 00:06:19,793 --> 00:06:21,586 into us is you have to go to school. 100 00:06:25,172 --> 00:06:27,137 [indistinct conversations] 101 00:06:31,724 --> 00:06:35,689 My graduation party was at my house in Sweet Home, where 102 00:06:35,689 --> 00:06:38,275 I lived with my mom at the time and my stepdad. 103 00:06:38,344 --> 00:06:39,586 What'd you say? 104 00:06:39,586 --> 00:06:41,379 LARSEN: It was a little awkward, and I think it was awkward 105 00:06:41,379 --> 00:06:46,275 for Roberta, too, being at my mom's house, and my mom's there. 106 00:06:51,275 --> 00:06:53,275 Dad and Roberta got me a card. 107 00:06:53,275 --> 00:06:55,965 I remember it saying something about how proud he was of me 108 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:00,482 and excited for the next chapter and just confident 109 00:07:00,482 --> 00:07:02,379 that I would do well. 110 00:07:02,379 --> 00:07:04,689 I felt so good that day, because I felt like 111 00:07:04,689 --> 00:07:06,551 my dad was so proud of me. 112 00:07:11,586 --> 00:07:14,241 This was a big moment. 113 00:07:16,793 --> 00:07:18,241 MAN: Yeah. 114 00:07:20,517 --> 00:07:22,862 That was one of the biggest gifts my dad's ever given me. 115 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:37,620 LARSEN: The necklace is still an important gift to me. 116 00:07:37,620 --> 00:07:40,275 I've got many gifts from my dad, but not things that 117 00:07:40,275 --> 00:07:44,034 were that heartfelt and meaningful to me. 118 00:07:46,172 --> 00:07:53,517 Roberta as a stepmom was more different than I would expect. 119 00:07:53,517 --> 00:07:56,172 She wasn't, you know, real warming, 120 00:07:56,241 --> 00:07:57,551 like as warming as my dad. 121 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:02,482 Roberta never came and picked us up or, you know, 122 00:08:02,482 --> 00:08:06,241 just us kids or did things with us without my dad. 123 00:08:07,103 --> 00:08:09,275 I feel like Roberta, she was maybe 124 00:08:09,275 --> 00:08:11,172 always a little bit distant from the family. 125 00:08:11,241 --> 00:08:13,379 I mean, she would go to the family functions and stuff, 126 00:08:13,379 --> 00:08:15,482 but she wasn't per se, uh, 127 00:08:15,482 --> 00:08:17,724 really involved. 128 00:08:17,724 --> 00:08:19,517 LARSEN: We never really got close to her. 129 00:08:19,517 --> 00:08:22,482 I don't remember ever having any, you know, serious 130 00:08:22,482 --> 00:08:23,965 talks, like, as a teenager with -- 131 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:26,172 about boys or anything like that. 132 00:08:28,482 --> 00:08:30,896 MELSON: Roberta, when she was around 133 00:08:30,896 --> 00:08:34,275 Ken's ex with the kids, 134 00:08:34,275 --> 00:08:38,275 she didn't really interact and just kind of kept 135 00:08:38,275 --> 00:08:40,275 kind of silent. 136 00:08:40,344 --> 00:08:45,275 Some people at the mill where Roberta and Ken worked 137 00:08:45,275 --> 00:08:47,724 thought that she was kind of hard to get along with, 138 00:08:47,724 --> 00:08:50,896 and they were kind of scared of Roberta. 139 00:08:50,896 --> 00:08:53,172 They said she was mean. 140 00:08:53,172 --> 00:08:55,275 SAMARD: I would watch my dad watch Roberta. 141 00:08:55,275 --> 00:08:57,482 You could just tell by the way he looked at her that he really 142 00:08:57,482 --> 00:09:00,551 loved her, she really filled his cup up. 143 00:09:01,482 --> 00:09:05,103 He gave her his 100 percent trust, 144 00:09:05,103 --> 00:09:07,482 hands down, because he loved her. 145 00:09:07,551 --> 00:09:10,448 But love is blind. 146 00:09:24,586 --> 00:09:27,482 I think dad was excited 147 00:09:27,482 --> 00:09:30,172 for us all to, you know, graduate and move on, 148 00:09:30,241 --> 00:09:32,000 start a new chapter of our lives, 149 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:34,103 to really get out in the world 150 00:09:34,103 --> 00:09:36,103 and be responsible adults. 151 00:09:36,103 --> 00:09:39,000 SAMARD: When we were starting to become young adults and leave 152 00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:41,172 the nest, that allowed him more 153 00:09:41,172 --> 00:09:44,379 opportunity to be able to go and enjoy things that he would 154 00:09:44,379 --> 00:09:45,758 enjoy doing with Roberta. 155 00:09:47,068 --> 00:09:48,103 KING: Ken and Roberta 156 00:09:48,103 --> 00:09:50,448 and I would mostly go wine tasting together. 157 00:09:51,379 --> 00:09:54,758 That was sort of our common interest that we all had. 158 00:09:55,965 --> 00:09:56,896 Sometimes we would share 159 00:09:56,896 --> 00:09:58,758 the expense, and sometimes they would pay. 160 00:10:00,068 --> 00:10:05,793 LARSEN: I think the wine tasting could get a little spendy. 161 00:10:05,793 --> 00:10:08,862 They had a wine fridge at the house. 162 00:10:09,862 --> 00:10:12,551 Going to the seafood and wine festivals 163 00:10:12,620 --> 00:10:14,482 and the wine tasting at the different wineries and stuff 164 00:10:14,482 --> 00:10:15,965 was expensive. 165 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:18,551 And I would say at least once 166 00:10:18,620 --> 00:10:21,275 a month, they would be doing something. 167 00:10:23,068 --> 00:10:25,689 MELSON: Roberta was pretty extravagant. 168 00:10:25,689 --> 00:10:31,068 But whenever the kids would ask to borrow some money, 169 00:10:31,137 --> 00:10:33,379 if they couldn't get a hold of their dad, 170 00:10:33,379 --> 00:10:37,655 they got a hold of Roberta, and Roberta would always say no. 171 00:10:40,413 --> 00:10:42,379 NARRATOR: And there's now another phase of joy 172 00:10:42,379 --> 00:10:45,862 for Ken and Roberta -- being grandparents. 173 00:10:46,896 --> 00:10:50,137 In short order, Danielle had two sons, 174 00:10:51,206 --> 00:10:55,000 and her brother, Bradley, had a son and a daughter. 175 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:57,379 Ken was ecstatic, because he was gonna 176 00:10:57,379 --> 00:11:00,000 be a grandpa, and they called him Papa, 177 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:02,275 So he was Papa Ken. 178 00:11:02,275 --> 00:11:05,103 SAMARD: My dad did like to spoil the grandchildren. 179 00:11:05,103 --> 00:11:09,310 He would always get really nice gifts, um, and get down on 180 00:11:09,310 --> 00:11:12,551 their level and interact with them to make them feel seen 181 00:11:12,620 --> 00:11:14,000 and heard. 182 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:15,551 I always appreciated that. 183 00:11:18,482 --> 00:11:20,275 Roberta never really seemed to 184 00:11:20,344 --> 00:11:25,586 be that grandmotherly type of person. 185 00:11:25,586 --> 00:11:27,068 When my boys were babies, 186 00:11:27,137 --> 00:11:29,275 she didn't want to hold the babies, 187 00:11:29,344 --> 00:11:31,862 which I thought was a little weird. 188 00:11:33,103 --> 00:11:36,379 SAMARD: My dad really enjoyed spending time with his kids. 189 00:11:36,379 --> 00:11:37,793 And I feel like sometimes, that 190 00:11:37,793 --> 00:11:40,172 would maybe create friction in his relationship. 191 00:11:41,689 --> 00:11:45,000 MELSON: She was jealous of the relationship that Ken had 192 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:46,758 with his kids. 193 00:11:46,827 --> 00:11:50,172 He would go over to their house to fix stuff or just -- 194 00:11:50,241 --> 00:11:53,000 just play with the grandkids. 195 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:56,172 He was gone for, you know, 4 or 5 hours. 196 00:11:57,172 --> 00:12:01,275 I think when he came back with stories of how much fun he had, 197 00:12:01,275 --> 00:12:05,379 she was a little jealous over that. 198 00:12:08,310 --> 00:12:10,586 NARRATOR: In 2009, 199 00:12:10,586 --> 00:12:14,034 both Ken and Roberta are laid off at the paper mill. 200 00:12:15,896 --> 00:12:18,137 [alarm clock beeping] 201 00:12:20,482 --> 00:12:22,068 [rapid beeping] 202 00:12:22,068 --> 00:12:24,689 When Ken lost his job, 203 00:12:24,689 --> 00:12:28,793 he was sad, because Ken was a workaholic. 204 00:12:28,793 --> 00:12:32,793 He loved to work and loved to make money, 205 00:12:32,793 --> 00:12:35,965 and he didn't know what he was gonna do. 206 00:12:37,965 --> 00:12:41,000 So he collected unemployment for a while, 207 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:44,931 and then he started his own roofing company. 208 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:48,862 He was determined to make 209 00:12:48,931 --> 00:12:50,241 what money he could. 210 00:12:51,793 --> 00:12:54,275 I got the feeling that financially 211 00:12:54,344 --> 00:12:56,379 that they may have been struggling. 212 00:12:56,379 --> 00:12:58,758 My dad would be a little bit more frustrated. 213 00:12:59,862 --> 00:13:01,379 You would never really know why. 214 00:13:01,379 --> 00:13:03,172 Maybe it was financial. 215 00:13:04,689 --> 00:13:07,965 MELSON: There was money coming in, but not a lot. 216 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:12,172 They just put a tighter grip on things. 217 00:13:16,103 --> 00:13:19,379 NARRATOR: In 2012, Ken and Roberta buy 218 00:13:19,379 --> 00:13:22,137 their dream home in Millersburg, Oregon. 219 00:13:23,413 --> 00:13:26,068 I just remember dad bringing us over one day 220 00:13:26,068 --> 00:13:27,482 and telling us that they had bought 221 00:13:27,482 --> 00:13:29,586 this new house in Millersburg, and he was really 222 00:13:29,586 --> 00:13:31,068 excited about it. 223 00:13:31,137 --> 00:13:33,241 -[Ken speaking] -[dog barking] 224 00:13:37,689 --> 00:13:40,862 [Roberta speaking] 225 00:13:42,793 --> 00:13:44,896 I remember going and seeing it, and it was beautiful. 226 00:13:44,896 --> 00:13:46,103 It was -- we loved it. 227 00:13:46,103 --> 00:13:49,379 It was out away from, you know, people 228 00:13:49,379 --> 00:13:52,068 and the main roads, and it had the barn. 229 00:13:52,068 --> 00:13:53,655 It was pretty -- they loved it. 230 00:13:53,724 --> 00:13:54,862 They seemed really happy. 231 00:13:55,689 --> 00:13:57,655 -[Ken speaking] -[dog barking] 232 00:14:06,793 --> 00:14:08,068 SAMARD: I feel like my dad was 233 00:14:08,068 --> 00:14:11,758 content with Roberta handling the finances. 234 00:14:12,689 --> 00:14:16,482 Roberta had a little bit of background in it. 235 00:14:16,551 --> 00:14:19,689 And so she was the one that always overseen the finances 236 00:14:19,689 --> 00:14:21,862 for the house and the mortgage payment, 237 00:14:21,931 --> 00:14:24,000 the estate, and all of the bills. 238 00:14:26,482 --> 00:14:29,862 MELSON: Roberta had changed the mail 239 00:14:29,862 --> 00:14:31,482 that was coming to the house. 240 00:14:31,551 --> 00:14:37,068 She had got a P.O. box in town and had all the mail go there. 241 00:14:37,068 --> 00:14:39,379 So Ken didn't see any mail. 242 00:14:41,068 --> 00:14:44,379 Ken always joked about, "Roberta has given me 243 00:14:44,379 --> 00:14:46,482 an allowance, and that's all I get." 244 00:14:46,482 --> 00:14:48,379 And he would laugh, 245 00:14:48,448 --> 00:14:51,310 and then she would say, "Well, you know, 246 00:14:51,310 --> 00:14:52,862 "if you need more money, 247 00:14:52,931 --> 00:14:54,793 I could probably give it to you." 248 00:14:54,793 --> 00:14:57,275 And he'd say, "No, I'm good." 249 00:14:57,275 --> 00:14:58,586 And I felt like he had complete 250 00:14:58,586 --> 00:15:00,344 trust in her, and he never questioned that. 251 00:15:01,896 --> 00:15:02,793 He believed in her. 252 00:15:02,793 --> 00:15:04,379 He stood behind her, and he loved her. 253 00:15:06,586 --> 00:15:08,965 There were a couple of incidents that we had heard 254 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:11,068 about, you know, some extravagant gifts 255 00:15:11,068 --> 00:15:13,275 that she bought for some of her close friends. 256 00:15:14,413 --> 00:15:16,482 MELSON: Roberta loved her friends, 257 00:15:16,551 --> 00:15:20,586 and their birthdays or anniversary, 258 00:15:20,586 --> 00:15:23,172 she loved going all out, and she loved 259 00:15:23,241 --> 00:15:26,034 making these little, like, gift baskets. 260 00:15:27,068 --> 00:15:28,793 They were pretty extravagant. 261 00:15:28,793 --> 00:15:30,689 I think she wanted her friends to know 262 00:15:30,689 --> 00:15:32,655 that she still could afford stuff. 263 00:15:36,896 --> 00:15:39,172 [man speaking] 264 00:15:40,068 --> 00:15:41,068 Oh, I like that. 265 00:15:41,068 --> 00:15:43,482 They're nice. I don't have very many... 266 00:15:43,482 --> 00:15:46,172 [man speaking] 267 00:15:46,896 --> 00:15:48,241 -EMMA: Uh-huh. -[man speaking] 268 00:15:50,103 --> 00:15:51,586 [man speaking] 269 00:15:51,586 --> 00:15:54,862 I never wondered how they could afford anything. 270 00:15:54,931 --> 00:15:58,275 My dad always seemed to be very responsible 271 00:15:58,344 --> 00:16:01,379 with money and worked his entire life. 272 00:16:01,379 --> 00:16:04,068 And so I just assumed he was okay. 273 00:16:04,068 --> 00:16:06,000 [man speaking] 274 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:09,068 [Roberta speaking] 275 00:16:09,137 --> 00:16:10,862 [man speaking] 276 00:16:10,862 --> 00:16:12,689 [Roberta speaking] 277 00:16:12,689 --> 00:16:13,793 [laughter] 278 00:16:13,793 --> 00:16:15,793 MELSON: He never let on about their finances. 279 00:16:15,793 --> 00:16:18,689 He would say sometimes like, "Oh, well, I don't know. 280 00:16:18,689 --> 00:16:20,965 We'll have to wait and see when we can afford it." 281 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:23,068 You know, just little things like that. 282 00:16:23,068 --> 00:16:24,379 [indistinct exclamation] 283 00:16:24,379 --> 00:16:29,689 MELSON: But everybody thought everything was... 284 00:16:29,689 --> 00:16:30,758 good. 285 00:16:32,068 --> 00:16:34,862 Just amazing how things can go so wrong. 286 00:16:48,137 --> 00:16:51,448 Ken and Roberta were on a roofing job in Corvallis, 287 00:16:54,275 --> 00:16:58,551 and the family got a call that he had fallen off the roof. 288 00:17:00,172 --> 00:17:03,862 He had shattered both of his heels, and he was 289 00:17:03,862 --> 00:17:09,758 going into surgery to have fake replacement heels put in. 290 00:17:11,172 --> 00:17:15,482 It kind of put a damper on him physically 291 00:17:15,482 --> 00:17:16,655 being able to work. 292 00:17:19,862 --> 00:17:21,689 I do think dad felt like it was 293 00:17:21,689 --> 00:17:25,482 his responsibility to provide and to bring in the money. 294 00:17:25,482 --> 00:17:27,103 When he was injured, 295 00:17:27,103 --> 00:17:29,344 I'm sure that bothered him quite a bit, 296 00:17:29,413 --> 00:17:30,655 because he did feel responsible. 297 00:17:33,482 --> 00:17:35,344 NARRATOR: Ken retrains as a heating, 298 00:17:35,413 --> 00:17:38,103 ventilation, and air conditioning engineer. 299 00:17:39,275 --> 00:17:41,344 MELSON: He decided to get a different 300 00:17:41,413 --> 00:17:45,103 kind of job that wasn't so demanding 301 00:17:45,103 --> 00:17:48,344 so he didn't have to stand on his feet a long time. 302 00:17:48,344 --> 00:17:51,965 This kind of fit right in his wheelhouse that, you know, 303 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:56,448 he could learn how to do this and make good money 304 00:17:56,517 --> 00:18:00,000 and support his family. 305 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:02,896 SAMARD: Roberta did seem supportive of my dad 306 00:18:02,896 --> 00:18:06,482 going back to school, but at the same time, 307 00:18:06,482 --> 00:18:09,172 it seemed like maybe it was really surface. 308 00:18:10,793 --> 00:18:13,000 Maybe there was something more there. 309 00:18:17,344 --> 00:18:19,965 MELSON: After Ken graduated, he got -- 310 00:18:19,965 --> 00:18:22,103 had a job right away at Sunbelt. 311 00:18:22,172 --> 00:18:24,103 He really liked it. 312 00:18:24,103 --> 00:18:28,034 He brought things home to fix that people were just, 313 00:18:28,103 --> 00:18:32,103 like, discarding, little HVAC systems that people 314 00:18:32,103 --> 00:18:34,103 didn't want, he would bring them home 315 00:18:34,172 --> 00:18:37,137 and fix them in his garage. 316 00:18:37,137 --> 00:18:39,310 And he was excited to go to work every day. 317 00:18:44,896 --> 00:18:47,551 [phone ringing] 318 00:18:47,620 --> 00:18:49,310 OPERATOR: Ma'am, are you there? Go ahead. 319 00:18:50,793 --> 00:18:52,965 [Roberta sobbing] 320 00:18:52,965 --> 00:18:55,965 [sobbing continues] 321 00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:57,655 [operator speaking] 322 00:18:57,724 --> 00:19:00,655 [Roberta speaking] 323 00:19:02,034 --> 00:19:03,034 [operator speaking] 324 00:19:03,034 --> 00:19:05,965 [Roberta speaking] 325 00:19:07,689 --> 00:19:11,241 -[operator speaking] -[sobbing continues] 326 00:19:11,241 --> 00:19:13,137 [Roberta speaking] 327 00:19:13,137 --> 00:19:15,827 [operator speaking] 328 00:19:19,586 --> 00:19:21,862 [Roberta speaking] 329 00:19:22,896 --> 00:19:24,655 [operator speaking] 330 00:19:25,482 --> 00:19:27,310 [Roberta speaking] 331 00:19:28,137 --> 00:19:29,482 [operator speaking] 332 00:19:29,482 --> 00:19:33,344 -[Roberta speaking] -[operator speaking] 333 00:19:33,344 --> 00:19:35,448 [Roberta sobbing] 334 00:19:39,862 --> 00:19:41,034 HARMON: I was at home. 335 00:19:41,103 --> 00:19:44,137 I got a phone call or a text in the early hours of 336 00:19:44,137 --> 00:19:46,000 the morning that there was 337 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:50,379 an incident in one of our small cities, Millersburg. 338 00:19:50,379 --> 00:19:52,241 [siren wailing] 339 00:19:52,241 --> 00:19:55,689 I live probably 10 minutes away. 340 00:19:55,689 --> 00:19:59,689 So it didn't take me very long to get to the scene. 341 00:19:59,689 --> 00:20:01,482 On my way there, 342 00:20:01,482 --> 00:20:04,965 the information I initially got was Roberta Samard had 343 00:20:04,965 --> 00:20:10,551 called 911 indicating that she had shot her husband, Ken. 344 00:20:11,896 --> 00:20:14,137 I turn on the radio so I can hear 345 00:20:14,137 --> 00:20:17,862 the radio transmissions that are going on from the deputies. 346 00:20:18,896 --> 00:20:21,206 [operator speaking] 347 00:20:22,896 --> 00:20:24,586 [Roberta speaking] 348 00:20:24,586 --> 00:20:27,000 [operator speaking] 349 00:20:29,482 --> 00:20:32,103 -[Roberta speaking] -[operator speaking] 350 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:38,758 -[Roberta speaking] -[operator speaking] 351 00:20:38,758 --> 00:20:40,103 [Roberta sobbing] 352 00:20:40,172 --> 00:20:42,448 [operator speaking] 353 00:20:43,275 --> 00:20:45,137 [Roberta speaking] 354 00:20:45,137 --> 00:20:47,034 [operator speaking] 355 00:20:47,103 --> 00:20:49,172 -[Roberta speaking] -[operator speaking] 356 00:20:57,137 --> 00:20:59,103 NARRATOR: The first officers arrive at Ken 357 00:20:59,172 --> 00:21:02,241 and Roberta's house at around 6:30 AM. 358 00:21:02,310 --> 00:21:04,034 [beeping noise] 359 00:21:06,137 --> 00:21:07,448 [officer speaking] 360 00:21:19,344 --> 00:21:23,344 HARMON: They contacted Roberta on the front porch 361 00:21:23,344 --> 00:21:26,344 and basically detained her, 362 00:21:26,413 --> 00:21:29,206 put her in handcuffs, and put her in the back of the car. 363 00:21:30,103 --> 00:21:33,827 Before I got there, I knew that Ken was dead. 364 00:21:35,137 --> 00:21:39,206 No life-saving efforts were gonna be performed on him. 365 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:43,862 When I arrive on the scene, 366 00:21:43,931 --> 00:21:47,862 patrol has responded, they've secured the scene. 367 00:21:47,862 --> 00:21:50,241 Ken is laying on the deck. 368 00:21:51,379 --> 00:21:53,862 There was only one wound, 369 00:21:55,034 --> 00:21:56,689 almost in the crook of the neck, 370 00:21:56,689 --> 00:22:00,103 where the -- where the chin meets the neck. 371 00:22:00,172 --> 00:22:03,965 Also, on that back deck, there was a coffee cup, 372 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:05,551 there was a lunchbox. 373 00:22:06,689 --> 00:22:09,344 We didn't think there was a struggle on the back porch. 374 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:12,758 There was nothing inside the house 375 00:22:12,758 --> 00:22:14,655 that appeared to be broken. 376 00:22:17,172 --> 00:22:19,034 The house was pretty pristine. 377 00:22:20,482 --> 00:22:24,241 I still want to give people the benefit of the doubt, 378 00:22:24,241 --> 00:22:26,758 and maybe this is a tragic accident. 379 00:22:30,586 --> 00:22:32,034 LARSEN: It was a Monday. 380 00:22:32,103 --> 00:22:34,482 I was driving to my job at 381 00:22:34,482 --> 00:22:38,448 the time, and my Aunt Kim kept calling. 382 00:22:38,517 --> 00:22:40,344 So I answered the phone. 383 00:22:40,344 --> 00:22:45,034 She told me that they had found my dad... 384 00:22:46,034 --> 00:22:48,862 that morning, and he had been killed. 385 00:22:51,793 --> 00:22:56,000 I just remember breaking down crying and thinking... 386 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,344 it -- it can't be it. 387 00:22:58,413 --> 00:23:01,241 There's a mistake. It's gotta be somebody else. 388 00:23:01,310 --> 00:23:03,379 Not my dad. 389 00:23:03,379 --> 00:23:05,344 [phone ringing] 390 00:23:05,344 --> 00:23:06,896 SAMARD: My phone rang, and it was my sister. 391 00:23:06,896 --> 00:23:09,862 And, uh, she's like, "You better sit down for this." 392 00:23:09,862 --> 00:23:12,965 And I was like, "Okay, well, what's going on?" 393 00:23:12,965 --> 00:23:15,655 She's like, uh, "Dad -- dad -- dad just got shot." 394 00:23:18,793 --> 00:23:20,586 I didn't really know what to say or what to even think. 395 00:23:20,586 --> 00:23:21,827 It was pretty surreal. 396 00:23:23,586 --> 00:23:26,793 I kept asking like, "Well, where is Roberta? 397 00:23:26,793 --> 00:23:28,896 Like, what's happening with Roberta?" 398 00:23:28,896 --> 00:23:30,241 And nobody really knew what was 399 00:23:30,241 --> 00:23:34,137 going on or nobody could contact her. 400 00:23:34,137 --> 00:23:36,206 I was in complete disbelief. 401 00:23:39,586 --> 00:23:45,034 We had patrol transfer her back to our sheriff's office. 402 00:23:45,034 --> 00:23:48,344 I think initially, she was kind of 403 00:23:48,413 --> 00:23:51,965 surprised that she wasn't just being let go. 404 00:24:05,586 --> 00:24:08,034 [Roberta sobbing] 405 00:24:13,758 --> 00:24:16,034 [detective speaking] 406 00:24:18,241 --> 00:24:20,448 [Roberta speaking] 407 00:24:21,344 --> 00:24:24,103 [detective speaking] 408 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:27,172 ROBERTA: No. 409 00:24:57,965 --> 00:25:02,586 She tells us that she plans on killing herself. 410 00:25:02,586 --> 00:25:05,551 What I'm thinking is, she's telling me this story is, 411 00:25:05,620 --> 00:25:08,931 oh, wow, this is the stuff the movies are made right here. 412 00:25:11,137 --> 00:25:14,965 Ken Leaves, goes out to his truck. 413 00:25:14,965 --> 00:25:17,310 She believes he's gone for the day. 414 00:25:18,896 --> 00:25:20,241 She retrieves the gun. 415 00:25:20,241 --> 00:25:23,758 She's walking around kinda aimlessly with this gun, 416 00:25:23,758 --> 00:25:27,241 trying to drum up the courage to kill herself. 417 00:25:29,793 --> 00:25:33,103 Ken returns to that back door on the deck. 418 00:25:33,103 --> 00:25:35,206 Ken sees the gun. 419 00:25:36,137 --> 00:25:37,758 [Roberta speaking] 420 00:25:53,689 --> 00:25:56,103 [suspenseful music playing] 421 00:25:56,103 --> 00:25:59,206 [suspenseful music climbing] 422 00:26:01,103 --> 00:26:03,103 HARMON: The bullet strikes Ken, 423 00:26:03,103 --> 00:26:06,034 causing Ken to fall down and die. 424 00:26:18,379 --> 00:26:21,241 HARMON: What's going through my mind is start playing 425 00:26:21,310 --> 00:26:23,241 scenarios of how could this have went down 426 00:26:23,241 --> 00:26:25,793 or looking at trying to figure out, 427 00:26:25,793 --> 00:26:28,344 Roberta, why do you want to kill yourself? 428 00:26:28,413 --> 00:26:31,034 What has gone wrong in your life? 429 00:26:40,793 --> 00:26:43,586 She really isn't specific on why she wants 430 00:26:43,586 --> 00:26:46,862 to kill herself other than she's been sad. 431 00:26:46,931 --> 00:26:49,689 There's no impending divorce. 432 00:26:49,689 --> 00:26:52,689 Is -- Ken's not having an affair. 433 00:26:52,689 --> 00:26:55,379 Is it just a simple fact that she's giving us 434 00:26:55,379 --> 00:26:59,448 a line of crap, and she was never suicidal to begin with? 435 00:27:00,482 --> 00:27:01,758 During this whole interview, 436 00:27:01,827 --> 00:27:05,379 now, mind you, Ken is still laying on the back deck, 437 00:27:05,379 --> 00:27:08,000 and at no time did she ask about Ken, 438 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:09,758 what was gonna happen to Ken, 439 00:27:11,862 --> 00:27:16,241 which was just a huge flag saying something's crazy here. 440 00:27:16,241 --> 00:27:18,655 This is just not -- not right. 441 00:27:44,172 --> 00:27:46,862 HARMON: During this interview, Roberta was telling us 442 00:27:46,862 --> 00:27:48,724 that she shot her husband. 443 00:27:50,172 --> 00:27:51,758 She may act like she's crying, 444 00:27:51,758 --> 00:27:53,758 but there are no actual tears 445 00:27:53,758 --> 00:27:55,965 coming out of this woman's eyes. 446 00:27:57,344 --> 00:27:58,655 That's not normal. 447 00:27:58,655 --> 00:28:01,068 That is not a normal behavior. 448 00:28:01,068 --> 00:28:03,724 So huge flag, huge flag for us. 449 00:28:26,655 --> 00:28:28,862 Okay, you're having financial problems. 450 00:28:28,931 --> 00:28:30,413 Tell me about those. 451 00:28:39,896 --> 00:28:43,172 She brings up these financial fights 452 00:28:43,172 --> 00:28:45,379 and then kind of downplays them 453 00:28:45,379 --> 00:28:49,241 and then tries to move on from that. 454 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:53,172 [detective speaking] 455 00:29:09,965 --> 00:29:13,482 HARMON: She also talked about how the gun had 456 00:29:13,482 --> 00:29:15,068 a stiff trigger pull. 457 00:29:15,137 --> 00:29:17,862 So it was -- it was pretty hard to pull the trigger. 458 00:29:19,379 --> 00:29:21,862 The prosecutor's office became involved in this case in 459 00:29:21,862 --> 00:29:24,448 November of 2015, 460 00:29:24,448 --> 00:29:27,000 November 16th of the date of the crime. 461 00:29:28,758 --> 00:29:30,862 Talking about the trigger pull, 462 00:29:30,862 --> 00:29:35,000 that was a very important statement for our case. 463 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:40,551 When we have somebody who is saying that this was accidental, 464 00:29:41,448 --> 00:29:42,862 [gunshot blasts] 465 00:29:42,862 --> 00:29:44,448 for that to be true, 466 00:29:44,448 --> 00:29:47,241 this has to be a gun with a light trigger pull, 467 00:29:47,310 --> 00:29:50,448 one that could possibly go off on its own, 468 00:29:50,448 --> 00:29:52,000 which, of course, it wasn't. 469 00:29:53,862 --> 00:29:58,000 She said, "I intentionally pulled that trigger." 470 00:30:13,862 --> 00:30:17,862 It's starting to look like that wound to Ken 471 00:30:17,862 --> 00:30:22,068 was more of an intentional thing than an accidental thing. 472 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:30,448 We asked her if she would be willing 473 00:30:30,448 --> 00:30:33,448 to help us and do a re-enactment. 474 00:30:34,862 --> 00:30:40,344 It helps us get a better understanding of -- 475 00:30:40,413 --> 00:30:44,448 of what may have occurred and may let us see things 476 00:30:44,448 --> 00:30:47,827 that we haven't pictured yet in our mind. 477 00:30:48,793 --> 00:30:54,172 Roberta was surprisingly willing to go back and do 478 00:30:54,172 --> 00:30:57,862 this re-enactment with the detectives at the scene. 479 00:30:57,862 --> 00:31:02,551 And I found that to be bizarre. 480 00:31:04,275 --> 00:31:07,758 How could you go back to the very place where, 481 00:31:07,758 --> 00:31:09,344 earlier that day, you accidentally killed 482 00:31:09,344 --> 00:31:11,068 the person who you loved most? 483 00:31:11,137 --> 00:31:12,862 But she was willing to do that. 484 00:31:12,931 --> 00:31:14,344 [detective speaking] 485 00:31:15,482 --> 00:31:16,758 DETECTIVE: Okay... 486 00:31:23,862 --> 00:31:24,965 [Roberta speaking] 487 00:31:24,965 --> 00:31:29,862 She placed one detective where she said Ken was. 488 00:31:31,655 --> 00:31:35,068 And then placed herself where she said she was 489 00:31:35,068 --> 00:31:40,758 and walked through the act of raising the gun. 490 00:31:40,758 --> 00:31:44,931 She raises it up, and he takes a step back. 491 00:31:57,000 --> 00:31:58,965 OLENICK: That piece of her statement, 492 00:31:58,965 --> 00:32:01,344 where she says he's walking backwards, 493 00:32:01,344 --> 00:32:04,655 in other words, creating distance between her 494 00:32:04,724 --> 00:32:07,862 and him doesn't make any sense at all 495 00:32:07,862 --> 00:32:11,241 in combination with her claim that she's raising 496 00:32:11,310 --> 00:32:14,758 the gun to herself and then accidentally shoots him. 497 00:32:14,758 --> 00:32:16,241 [gunshot blasts] 498 00:32:19,689 --> 00:32:21,758 In order for that to be true, 499 00:32:21,827 --> 00:32:25,620 there's got to be some kind of struggle over the firearm. 500 00:32:27,482 --> 00:32:29,172 [gunshot blasts] 501 00:32:42,965 --> 00:32:46,862 Roberta says "There must have been a struggle, because of what 502 00:32:46,931 --> 00:32:49,586 I was planning to do with the gun and what happened." 503 00:32:49,586 --> 00:32:53,448 But she won't commit to saying that there was a struggle. 504 00:32:54,379 --> 00:32:58,965 Her story is crumbling faster than a dry cookie on a plate. 505 00:33:01,793 --> 00:33:04,586 HARMON: In my mind, I'm like, there's no way 506 00:33:04,586 --> 00:33:06,448 this is an accident. 507 00:33:06,448 --> 00:33:09,758 You killed him, you killed him for a reason. 508 00:33:09,758 --> 00:33:15,241 And now we just need to figure out what's the motive. 509 00:33:15,310 --> 00:33:16,931 Why the hell did this happen? 510 00:33:18,344 --> 00:33:21,448 It was surprising in talking to the family that they didn't 511 00:33:21,517 --> 00:33:23,965 indicate anything about Ken and Roberta 512 00:33:23,965 --> 00:33:25,586 not getting along. 513 00:33:25,586 --> 00:33:29,000 It appeared that they had the -- what you would 514 00:33:29,068 --> 00:33:32,655 refer to as a perfect of marriage as possible. 515 00:33:33,862 --> 00:33:37,068 But then one of the family members mentioned a couple of 516 00:33:37,137 --> 00:33:39,655 years prior that they had actually 517 00:33:39,655 --> 00:33:43,655 seen it published in the newspaper that there was 518 00:33:43,724 --> 00:33:48,172 a foreclosure notice for Ken and Roberta's house. 519 00:33:48,172 --> 00:33:50,758 My little brother kept seeing it in the paper, 520 00:33:50,758 --> 00:33:54,551 that Ken and Roberta's house was up for foreclosure. 521 00:33:54,551 --> 00:33:58,965 And my brother called Ken on a couple occasions 522 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:00,344 and said, "I can loan 523 00:34:00,413 --> 00:34:03,172 "you the money to just pay the house off, 524 00:34:03,172 --> 00:34:04,965 because it's not that much." 525 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:08,655 And Ken would say, "No, it's okay. 526 00:34:08,655 --> 00:34:10,724 Roberta's got it all under control." 527 00:34:12,379 --> 00:34:15,655 HARMON: We talked to the representative of 528 00:34:15,724 --> 00:34:17,344 the company that purchased the house. 529 00:34:18,275 --> 00:34:21,757 The house had ended up going into foreclosure, 530 00:34:21,757 --> 00:34:27,068 and it had actually been sold prior to Ken's murder. 531 00:34:27,068 --> 00:34:30,275 Roberta had contacted these people and asked 532 00:34:30,275 --> 00:34:33,862 for time to move out, like 30 days. 533 00:34:33,862 --> 00:34:36,757 The day they were supposed to be out was 534 00:34:36,827 --> 00:34:40,620 November 16, 2015, the day Ken was killed. 535 00:34:41,793 --> 00:34:46,757 When you walked into that house on November 16th, 536 00:34:46,827 --> 00:34:49,172 there was nothing boxed up. 537 00:34:49,241 --> 00:34:53,585 OLENICK: During the search of the Samard house, 538 00:34:53,585 --> 00:34:57,275 detectives found the foreclosure paperwork at 539 00:34:57,275 --> 00:34:59,172 the bottom of a laundry hamper, 540 00:35:00,551 --> 00:35:04,000 which was very striking to us. 541 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:06,103 They had lost the house. 542 00:35:06,103 --> 00:35:08,827 He didn't know it, and she did. 543 00:35:09,862 --> 00:35:12,000 When we're getting this information, we're like, 544 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:14,068 okay, that's it. 545 00:35:14,137 --> 00:35:16,448 We're starting to get to the bottom of this puzzle. 546 00:35:25,275 --> 00:35:27,965 NARRATOR: In Ken's study, investigators recover 547 00:35:27,965 --> 00:35:29,448 a self-help workbook. 548 00:35:32,034 --> 00:35:34,482 Inside, Ken recorded his thoughts 549 00:35:34,482 --> 00:35:37,655 about his relationship with Roberta. 550 00:35:37,655 --> 00:35:39,275 "She's always right. 551 00:35:39,275 --> 00:35:42,862 "Why is it that if I ask for a clarification, 552 00:35:42,862 --> 00:35:44,758 "I'm being difficult or mean? 553 00:35:44,758 --> 00:35:47,241 "You would think that someone with all the answers would be 554 00:35:47,241 --> 00:35:49,206 a little more respectful of others." 555 00:35:50,482 --> 00:35:52,344 "My wife has power over me. 556 00:35:52,413 --> 00:35:54,758 She has control of our money at home." 557 00:35:56,379 --> 00:36:03,000 I'm not sure why he felt this way or would allow it. 558 00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:04,862 It's kind of heartbreaking 559 00:36:04,931 --> 00:36:06,758 to know that that's how he felt, 560 00:36:06,827 --> 00:36:09,965 that she had power over him and controlled everything. 561 00:36:11,137 --> 00:36:14,241 OLENICK: Roberta basically held the purse strings. 562 00:36:14,310 --> 00:36:18,241 She had control of their bank accounts, their passwords. 563 00:36:19,793 --> 00:36:23,965 The workbook kind of helped us show that Ken is not as 564 00:36:23,965 --> 00:36:27,034 happy as everyone thinks, and he might be 565 00:36:27,034 --> 00:36:29,103 thinking about leaving her. 566 00:36:29,172 --> 00:36:31,655 One of the other little pieces of 567 00:36:31,655 --> 00:36:34,275 information we found was a little note. 568 00:36:34,275 --> 00:36:37,655 It was written by Ken to Roberta. 569 00:36:39,034 --> 00:36:42,241 OLENICK: Ken had left a note for Roberta 570 00:36:42,310 --> 00:36:46,137 discussing the Mastercard being maxed out and that 571 00:36:46,137 --> 00:36:48,448 they need to talk about where they were at. 572 00:36:49,482 --> 00:36:51,482 From the context of the note, 573 00:36:51,482 --> 00:36:54,103 it seemed that he was surprised about that. 574 00:36:54,103 --> 00:36:58,827 And so that may have figured into a possible motive. 575 00:37:35,103 --> 00:37:37,344 And when she was arrested, I think she was 576 00:37:37,413 --> 00:37:41,448 a little astonished that we didn't believe her story. 577 00:37:42,862 --> 00:37:45,000 She was astonished she was going to jail. 578 00:37:49,103 --> 00:37:51,551 NARRATOR: While Roberta awaits trial in jail, 579 00:37:52,793 --> 00:37:56,586 prosecutors build the case for murder. 580 00:37:56,586 --> 00:38:00,758 OLENICK: When the medical examiner performs the autopsy, 581 00:38:00,827 --> 00:38:06,137 we learned that this was, in fact, a contact wound, 582 00:38:06,137 --> 00:38:09,896 that Roberta pulled the trigger of this gun 583 00:38:09,896 --> 00:38:14,724 while the muzzle was pressed against Ken Samard's throat. 584 00:38:17,137 --> 00:38:20,965 HARMON: They did some analysis of Ken's wounds, 585 00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:23,482 and if she's coming up to shoot herself, 586 00:38:23,482 --> 00:38:24,965 she's shorter than Ken. 587 00:38:24,965 --> 00:38:27,000 That angle of that entrance wound is 588 00:38:27,068 --> 00:38:30,103 gonna be more vertical than horizontal. 589 00:38:30,103 --> 00:38:32,034 But what was actually found in 590 00:38:32,034 --> 00:38:36,103 that wound was it was more horizontal. 591 00:38:36,172 --> 00:38:39,241 The trajectory, the wound path, showed that it wasn't 592 00:38:39,241 --> 00:38:44,758 just a coming up, and the gun accidentally went off. 593 00:38:44,827 --> 00:38:46,448 That was the key to the case. 594 00:38:47,275 --> 00:38:50,137 Once we knew that, it was clear to us 595 00:38:50,137 --> 00:38:52,758 that this was an intentional act and therefore murder. 596 00:39:00,482 --> 00:39:04,275 The trial was in April of 2017. 597 00:39:04,275 --> 00:39:07,000 Uh, it was two weeks long. 598 00:39:07,000 --> 00:39:10,137 The case that we put forward was 599 00:39:10,137 --> 00:39:15,000 built on what the physical evidence showed us. 600 00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:20,793 The jury deliberated between four and five hours, 601 00:39:20,793 --> 00:39:21,965 and at the end of that, 602 00:39:21,965 --> 00:39:26,344 they convicted Roberta Samard of murder unanimously. 603 00:39:35,034 --> 00:39:36,448 NARRATOR: The evidence gathered during 604 00:39:36,517 --> 00:39:40,965 the investigation points to Roberta's possible motive. 605 00:39:40,965 --> 00:39:42,689 If there was a motive, it was 606 00:39:42,689 --> 00:39:47,310 tied into her mismanagement of the finances. 607 00:39:49,103 --> 00:39:51,758 We know that Roberta had the control of all of 608 00:39:51,758 --> 00:39:54,655 the finances, that she would have been the one with 609 00:39:54,724 --> 00:40:00,137 the means to spend their money, to the extent that any spending 610 00:40:00,137 --> 00:40:03,137 put them in the position that they ended up in, 611 00:40:03,137 --> 00:40:04,551 it would have been due to her. 612 00:40:05,793 --> 00:40:08,103 Ken didn't know the house had been sold. 613 00:40:08,172 --> 00:40:10,758 Roberta hid this. 614 00:40:10,827 --> 00:40:13,689 OLENICK: It would appear that he was figuring out 615 00:40:13,689 --> 00:40:17,448 that they were in a bad situation financially. 616 00:40:17,517 --> 00:40:19,896 She may have known about his frustrations, 617 00:40:19,896 --> 00:40:23,655 may have known that he was thinking about leaving. 618 00:40:23,724 --> 00:40:27,379 Those factors may have led her to commit murder. 619 00:40:27,379 --> 00:40:30,241 HARMON: Ken might be thinking about leaving her. 620 00:40:30,310 --> 00:40:32,551 Here you've lost your house, you've lost everything, 621 00:40:32,620 --> 00:40:34,000 and now you're gonna lose your husband? 622 00:40:35,965 --> 00:40:37,896 I think he was leaving for work. 623 00:40:37,896 --> 00:40:40,689 There was a conversation -- I think she already had 624 00:40:40,689 --> 00:40:43,965 the gun on her, and I think that conversation 625 00:40:43,965 --> 00:40:45,344 probably escalated. 626 00:40:47,379 --> 00:40:49,034 It led to her killing Ken. 627 00:40:49,034 --> 00:40:51,275 [gunshot blasts] 628 00:40:51,275 --> 00:40:54,275 I think if you take all of the physical evidence, 629 00:40:54,275 --> 00:40:58,862 all of the inconsistencies in Roberta's statements, 630 00:40:58,931 --> 00:41:02,448 it just goes to show you that she intentionally killed him. 631 00:41:10,482 --> 00:41:14,379 Her story of him accidentally getting shot was 632 00:41:14,379 --> 00:41:17,827 just a B.S. story that she had made up. 633 00:41:26,034 --> 00:41:30,448 LARSEN: My dad was a very loving, giving person. 634 00:41:31,965 --> 00:41:33,758 If there were more people like my dad in the world, 635 00:41:33,758 --> 00:41:36,448 the world would be a better place, that's for sure. 636 00:41:38,586 --> 00:41:42,689 KING: What I miss most about Ken is his laugh and his smile. 637 00:41:42,689 --> 00:41:44,103 And if you were having a bad day, 638 00:41:44,172 --> 00:41:45,448 he could always make it better. 639 00:41:46,379 --> 00:41:49,344 SAMARD: I don't feel like that there is able to be justice. 640 00:41:50,379 --> 00:41:53,137 There's nothing you could do to somebody else that's gonna 641 00:41:53,137 --> 00:41:54,862 make Ken be able to be there again 642 00:41:54,931 --> 00:41:57,000 for his grandchildren or make his grandchildren 643 00:41:57,068 --> 00:41:58,448 be able to enjoy him. 644 00:42:00,379 --> 00:42:05,034 We remember Ken as probably the best grandpa ever, 645 00:42:05,034 --> 00:42:07,379 and I was so appreciative of that. 646 00:42:07,379 --> 00:42:08,862 I was so excited 647 00:42:11,379 --> 00:42:13,793 to have that for them, to be able to experience that.