1 00:00:12,749 --> 00:00:15,773 [music playing] 2 00:00:18,657 --> 00:00:19,734 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 3 00:00:19,838 --> 00:00:21,749 Narrowsburg, upstate New York. 4 00:00:21,854 --> 00:00:24,182 A house burns to the ground. 5 00:00:24,286 --> 00:00:27,066 Neighbors were waking up in the dark 6 00:00:27,170 --> 00:00:30,229 seeing this glow in the distance. 7 00:00:30,333 --> 00:00:32,487 Some people thought it was the sunrise. 8 00:00:32,592 --> 00:00:33,981 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 9 00:00:34,086 --> 00:00:35,475 The house's owners, Paul and Catherine Novak, 10 00:00:35,579 --> 00:00:38,186 recently separated, and now, one of them 11 00:00:38,290 --> 00:00:40,792 lies dead in the smoldering basement. 12 00:00:40,896 --> 00:00:44,615 She had been found lying on the basement floor on her back 13 00:00:44,719 --> 00:00:46,109 with her arms outstretched. 14 00:00:46,213 --> 00:00:49,305 She had been crushed by falling debris when the house 15 00:00:49,409 --> 00:00:50,766 collapsed in the fire. 16 00:00:50,870 --> 00:00:52,189 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 17 00:00:52,294 --> 00:00:54,483 Catherine, a mother of two young children, is dead, 18 00:00:54,587 --> 00:00:57,019 and her friends don't think it's an accident. 19 00:00:57,124 --> 00:01:00,981 I immediately thought, oh, my god, she was murdered. 20 00:01:01,086 --> 00:01:02,545 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 21 00:01:02,649 --> 00:01:06,367 Connected somehow is Paul Novak's friend, Scott Sherwood. 22 00:01:06,471 --> 00:01:08,244 So you knew the house was on fire. 23 00:01:08,348 --> 00:01:10,051 Did he say how he strangled her? 24 00:01:10,154 --> 00:01:16,271 Paul Novak paid him to drive him upstate to kill his wife. 25 00:01:16,374 --> 00:01:18,008 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 26 00:01:18,112 --> 00:01:23,221 It's an all too familiar story, lust, greed, and a husband 27 00:01:23,324 --> 00:01:24,540 accused of murder. 28 00:01:24,644 --> 00:01:26,244 They told me that a body was found there, 29 00:01:26,347 --> 00:01:28,294 but they weren't sure if it was Catherine's or not. 30 00:01:28,398 --> 00:01:30,379 The motive was undeniable. 31 00:01:30,483 --> 00:01:33,054 But could investigators prove that Paul Novak 32 00:01:33,158 --> 00:01:35,521 had actually killed his wife? 33 00:01:35,626 --> 00:01:38,371 I'm Michelle Trachtenberg, and we'll find out right 34 00:01:38,475 --> 00:01:41,393 now, on "Meet, Marry, Murder." 35 00:01:41,497 --> 00:01:44,626 [music playing] 36 00:01:55,884 --> 00:01:58,907 In a Florida police station 1,000 miles south 37 00:01:59,012 --> 00:02:00,923 of Narrowsburg, New York, a woman 38 00:02:01,027 --> 00:02:03,599 named Michelle LaFrance tells a story 39 00:02:03,703 --> 00:02:06,829 of love, intrigue, and murder. 40 00:02:06,934 --> 00:02:08,533 He was gonna do this. 41 00:02:08,637 --> 00:02:10,618 He was gonna do this and save the children. 42 00:02:10,722 --> 00:02:12,251 How does the conversation go? 43 00:02:12,356 --> 00:02:14,301 Like, what is he-- what is he telling you that he wants to do 44 00:02:14,405 --> 00:02:15,448 or how does that come about? 45 00:02:15,552 --> 00:02:18,610 That he was gonna kill Catherine. 46 00:02:18,715 --> 00:02:21,146 And he says that to you? 47 00:02:21,250 --> 00:02:22,641 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 48 00:02:22,745 --> 00:02:26,324 Days later, a paramedic named Scott Sherwood confirms 49 00:02:26,428 --> 00:02:28,027 Michelle's twisted story. 50 00:02:28,131 --> 00:02:29,729 They say if Catherine mentioned 51 00:02:29,834 --> 00:02:32,684 anything during the struggle? 52 00:02:32,787 --> 00:02:35,012 Why are you doing this? 53 00:02:35,116 --> 00:02:36,540 And what was his response? 54 00:02:36,644 --> 00:02:37,548 Doing this for the kids. 55 00:02:37,651 --> 00:02:39,181 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 56 00:02:39,285 --> 00:02:41,439 Sherwood claims to have been Paul Novak's accomplice 57 00:02:41,544 --> 00:02:45,749 in the murder of his wife and wants to come clean, even 58 00:02:45,854 --> 00:02:48,321 if it means going to prison. 59 00:02:48,424 --> 00:02:49,884 He was manipulated. 60 00:02:49,988 --> 00:02:55,583 I honestly don't think that, but for Paul Novak existing, 61 00:02:55,687 --> 00:02:58,224 Scott would have ever committed a crime in his entire life. 62 00:02:58,328 --> 00:02:59,370 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 63 00:02:59,474 --> 00:03:01,733 To unravel this mystery, detectives 64 00:03:01,837 --> 00:03:03,367 need to get to the bottom of Paul 65 00:03:03,471 --> 00:03:07,015 and Catherine's seemingly happy marriage, which 66 00:03:07,119 --> 00:03:10,282 began when they met each other as young paramedics 67 00:03:10,386 --> 00:03:11,497 in New York. 68 00:03:11,602 --> 00:03:14,763 [siren wailing, music playing] 69 00:03:17,370 --> 00:03:20,567 Paul Novak met Catherine in the summer of 1996 70 00:03:20,672 --> 00:03:22,200 at an Ambulance Corps barbecue. 71 00:03:22,305 --> 00:03:23,902 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): As a child, 72 00:03:24,007 --> 00:03:26,335 Catherine came from a family that constantly 73 00:03:26,439 --> 00:03:29,392 struggled to make ends meet, a fact that 74 00:03:29,498 --> 00:03:31,582 haunted her into adulthood. 75 00:03:31,686 --> 00:03:33,772 LINDA RODRIGUEZ: Catherine was raised in Glendale, New York. 76 00:03:33,876 --> 00:03:35,857 She was the fourth and the youngest child. 77 00:03:35,962 --> 00:03:38,115 And her family didn't have a lot of money growing up, 78 00:03:38,220 --> 00:03:40,966 but Catherine was determined and she was hard working. 79 00:03:41,070 --> 00:03:44,265 She put herself through college doing odd jobs, 80 00:03:44,369 --> 00:03:47,811 and when she graduated, she decided to find a career 81 00:03:47,915 --> 00:03:49,200 where she could help people. 82 00:03:49,305 --> 00:03:50,348 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 83 00:03:50,452 --> 00:03:52,327 While in her early 20s, Catherine 84 00:03:52,432 --> 00:03:54,794 met her first husband, an emergency 85 00:03:54,899 --> 00:03:57,261 medical technician, while volunteering 86 00:03:57,366 --> 00:03:58,860 at a local hospital. 87 00:03:58,964 --> 00:04:02,683 She became a first responder, but the fast-paced lifestyle 88 00:04:02,787 --> 00:04:06,609 wasn't for her, so they split after four years. 89 00:04:06,713 --> 00:04:09,041 After that, Catherine vowed never to date 90 00:04:09,146 --> 00:04:11,230 another paramedic ever again. 91 00:04:11,334 --> 00:04:14,879 But then, she met Paul Novak. 92 00:04:14,983 --> 00:04:19,604 In those days right after 9/11 and at the very early years 93 00:04:19,709 --> 00:04:24,817 of the Iraq war, anyone with a paramedic uniform on from New 94 00:04:24,922 --> 00:04:27,493 York you kind of assumed might have been a hero. 95 00:04:27,598 --> 00:04:29,091 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 96 00:04:29,195 --> 00:04:31,976 Paul was a popular figure in the Jamaica Hospital Ambulance 97 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:33,956 Service where he worked. 98 00:04:34,060 --> 00:04:38,127 Tall and strong, he liked being known as the guy who saved 99 00:04:38,231 --> 00:04:41,322 lives, and he had a reputation for somehow 100 00:04:41,427 --> 00:04:45,910 being able to bring victims back from the brink of death. 101 00:04:46,015 --> 00:04:48,759 A lot of Paul's buddies secretly believed 102 00:04:48,863 --> 00:04:51,088 he was only in the job for the glory, 103 00:04:51,192 --> 00:04:55,363 unlike Catherine, who actually cared about her patients. 104 00:04:55,466 --> 00:04:57,516 Catherine and Paul were different, very different. 105 00:04:57,621 --> 00:04:58,767 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 106 00:04:58,872 --> 00:05:01,721 Catherine was the quiet one, reliable, 107 00:05:01,825 --> 00:05:04,048 always on top of everything. 108 00:05:04,152 --> 00:05:07,662 Paul, on the other hand, not so much. 109 00:05:07,767 --> 00:05:10,095 He tended to spend his money on electronics 110 00:05:10,199 --> 00:05:13,328 and was perpetually fixing up motorcycles that he would then 111 00:05:13,431 --> 00:05:15,586 race around in the woods in upstate New York 112 00:05:15,691 --> 00:05:16,767 at 160 miles an hour. 113 00:05:16,872 --> 00:05:17,949 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 114 00:05:18,053 --> 00:05:19,964 Friends and co-workers didn't get 115 00:05:20,068 --> 00:05:22,118 what the two saw in each other. 116 00:05:22,222 --> 00:05:25,246 I think Paul Novak only cared about Paul Novak. 117 00:05:25,351 --> 00:05:28,130 On the surface, it didn't seem like their relationship 118 00:05:28,234 --> 00:05:29,972 would really work. 119 00:05:30,077 --> 00:05:31,430 But she loved him. 120 00:05:31,534 --> 00:05:36,643 And on Valentine's Day, 1997, the two were married. 121 00:05:36,747 --> 00:05:38,138 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 122 00:05:38,242 --> 00:05:41,195 Years later, Paul and Catherine's friends would say 123 00:05:41,299 --> 00:05:43,940 the red flags were all there. 124 00:05:44,044 --> 00:05:46,930 Paul burned through money faster than he could make it. 125 00:05:47,033 --> 00:05:50,613 He was hooked on porn and watched X-rated movies 126 00:05:50,717 --> 00:05:53,289 while parked in his ambulance. 127 00:05:53,393 --> 00:05:56,658 But Catherine was oblivious to all of it, 128 00:05:56,762 --> 00:05:59,403 or maybe just chose to ignore it. 129 00:05:59,508 --> 00:06:02,497 And the behavior of Paul Novak within that community 130 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:04,547 of paramedics, the adrenaline rush, 131 00:06:04,652 --> 00:06:09,550 the drug use, the porn addiction, you know, all of it, 132 00:06:09,655 --> 00:06:10,940 very dark. 133 00:06:11,045 --> 00:06:16,118 That-- that was eye-popping, yes. 134 00:06:16,222 --> 00:06:18,133 What does he say happened inside the house? 135 00:06:18,238 --> 00:06:22,338 He had said that the chloroform didn't work. 136 00:06:22,442 --> 00:06:23,589 I had to strangle her. 137 00:06:23,693 --> 00:06:25,223 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 138 00:06:25,326 --> 00:06:28,246 That was Scott Sherwood talking to detectives after Catherine 139 00:06:28,350 --> 00:06:32,832 Novak's murder, a homicide that involved Paul mixing 140 00:06:32,936 --> 00:06:35,648 a batch of chloroform before convincing 141 00:06:35,752 --> 00:06:38,045 Scott to help kill his wife. 142 00:06:38,149 --> 00:06:40,408 But before any of that, Catherine 143 00:06:40,512 --> 00:06:44,055 was just a naive newlywed who thought marriage would curb 144 00:06:44,161 --> 00:06:48,053 Paul's reckless spending, only to discover 145 00:06:48,157 --> 00:06:53,855 he was still secretly living beyond their means, way beyond. 146 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:55,246 LINDA RODRIGUEZ: Novak had a history 147 00:06:55,350 --> 00:06:56,565 of being bad with money. 148 00:06:56,670 --> 00:06:59,450 In 1998, he had filed for bankruptcy. 149 00:06:59,554 --> 00:07:02,334 In 2003, Catherine, who had always 150 00:07:02,438 --> 00:07:05,879 been very good with her money, very cautious and very careful, 151 00:07:05,984 --> 00:07:07,790 also filed for bankruptcy. 152 00:07:07,894 --> 00:07:10,257 As it turned out, Novak had spent most of their money 153 00:07:10,361 --> 00:07:13,489 on electronics and motorcycles that he was rebuilding. 154 00:07:13,592 --> 00:07:15,157 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): At the same time 155 00:07:15,261 --> 00:07:18,805 Paul was apparently flushing all their money down the drain, 156 00:07:18,909 --> 00:07:22,072 he and Catherine were also starting a family. 157 00:07:22,176 --> 00:07:26,415 First, their daughter, Natalie, and then, four years later, 158 00:07:26,519 --> 00:07:28,083 their son, Nicholas. 159 00:07:28,187 --> 00:07:30,724 Catherine seemed to believe fatherhood would finally 160 00:07:30,829 --> 00:07:34,338 get Paul to settle down, especially after she got him 161 00:07:34,442 --> 00:07:38,438 to agree to move the family upstate, away from the hustle 162 00:07:38,541 --> 00:07:40,975 and bustle of the city. 163 00:07:41,078 --> 00:07:42,922 LINDA RODRIGUEZ: Within a few years of getting married, 164 00:07:43,026 --> 00:07:44,728 the couple bought a house in Narrowsburg, 165 00:07:44,832 --> 00:07:47,369 New York, a tiny farming community 166 00:07:47,473 --> 00:07:51,121 that was outside of the city. 167 00:07:51,225 --> 00:07:53,415 NINA BURLEIGH: Narrowsburg is a town about an hour 168 00:07:53,518 --> 00:07:56,785 and a half northwest of New York City. 169 00:07:56,889 --> 00:08:02,032 It's on the Delaware River, and it's a very small town. 170 00:08:02,137 --> 00:08:04,812 It has gone through some changes. 171 00:08:04,917 --> 00:08:10,129 It used to be a dairy farm area up here. 172 00:08:10,234 --> 00:08:13,673 And then, the dairy farms kind of subsided, 173 00:08:13,777 --> 00:08:17,705 and when we bought our house in 2000, 174 00:08:17,809 --> 00:08:19,371 it was a pretty depressed area. 175 00:08:19,476 --> 00:08:22,744 The Main Street was filled with thrift stores 176 00:08:22,847 --> 00:08:25,002 and boarded up shops. 177 00:08:25,107 --> 00:08:30,144 Since 9/11, this area, because it's so close to New York City, 178 00:08:30,249 --> 00:08:33,653 has attracted a lot of New Yorkers 179 00:08:33,757 --> 00:08:35,217 who wanted to buy second homes. 180 00:08:35,323 --> 00:08:37,998 So there are a lot of second homeowners up here, 181 00:08:38,103 --> 00:08:42,550 and that brought Narrowsburg up. 182 00:08:42,654 --> 00:08:46,789 Catherine had bought a house in the rural area 183 00:08:46,893 --> 00:08:48,387 outside of Narrowsburg. 184 00:08:48,492 --> 00:08:52,384 And it was a simple house, a little red and white house. 185 00:08:52,489 --> 00:08:54,886 She had always wanted to be a stay at home mom. 186 00:08:54,990 --> 00:08:57,874 Her mother later said that she was the kind of person who 187 00:08:57,979 --> 00:09:00,793 wanted her children to look back on their house and say, 188 00:09:00,897 --> 00:09:02,461 that's the house that I grew up in. 189 00:09:02,565 --> 00:09:08,854 She was a very unusual type because of her civic-- 190 00:09:08,958 --> 00:09:11,773 her sense of civic duty, her willingness 191 00:09:11,878 --> 00:09:18,445 to plunge in, donate her time to her church, to her community, 192 00:09:18,549 --> 00:09:19,627 to the school. 193 00:09:19,731 --> 00:09:21,225 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 194 00:09:21,329 --> 00:09:23,935 Nina Burleigh ended up being one of Catherine's first friends 195 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:25,395 in Narrowsburg. 196 00:09:25,499 --> 00:09:30,329 I met Catherine when both of our children were five-year-old 197 00:09:30,434 --> 00:09:35,125 kindergartners at the Narrowsburg school, and she was 198 00:09:35,229 --> 00:09:36,723 just a mother, just like me. 199 00:09:36,828 --> 00:09:40,442 And we got to know each other at the school. 200 00:09:40,546 --> 00:09:43,637 Every day, we were dealing with the same things as mothers 201 00:09:43,743 --> 00:09:47,287 of our first child going to school, 202 00:09:47,391 --> 00:09:48,746 and she was a lovely person. 203 00:09:48,850 --> 00:09:50,935 She was a great mother. 204 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:55,001 And she liked to put in time helping other people. 205 00:09:55,105 --> 00:09:56,460 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 206 00:09:56,564 --> 00:09:58,823 Catherine wanted to believe Narrowsburg was safe, 207 00:09:58,927 --> 00:10:01,255 but appearances can be deceiving. 208 00:10:01,359 --> 00:10:04,105 It's a place where things can happen. 209 00:10:04,209 --> 00:10:10,673 Because it's a rural community, and you're far from neighbors, 210 00:10:10,777 --> 00:10:16,614 you're far from the authorities, and on a dark night, 211 00:10:16,719 --> 00:10:18,665 a lot of things can happen if you have 212 00:10:18,769 --> 00:10:21,306 somebody with malign intent. 213 00:10:21,409 --> 00:10:22,730 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 214 00:10:22,835 --> 00:10:25,163 Catherine may have thought once Paul had settled 215 00:10:25,268 --> 00:10:28,359 into Narrowsburg, everything would be OK, 216 00:10:28,464 --> 00:10:32,286 but Paul clearly wasn't on the same page. 217 00:10:32,391 --> 00:10:35,101 Paul convinced Catherine he would get paid more 218 00:10:35,206 --> 00:10:38,367 and solve their money problems by commuting back 219 00:10:38,471 --> 00:10:39,931 and forth to New York City. 220 00:10:40,036 --> 00:10:41,495 LINDA RODRIGUEZ: Paul still worked in Queens, 221 00:10:41,599 --> 00:10:44,657 so he would sleep several nights a week in an apartment 222 00:10:44,761 --> 00:10:49,244 in Queens while Catherine stayed up in Narrowsburg 223 00:10:49,348 --> 00:10:51,711 with their new daughter. 224 00:10:51,815 --> 00:10:54,282 NINA BURLEIGH: Her husband wasn't here very often. 225 00:10:54,387 --> 00:10:58,001 He would show up on occasion to the morning drop 226 00:10:58,105 --> 00:10:59,773 off wearing his uniform. 227 00:10:59,877 --> 00:11:01,336 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 228 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:04,081 When he wasn't off in the city, Paul made almost no effort 229 00:11:04,186 --> 00:11:08,737 to become part of his family's new life in Narrowsburg. 230 00:11:08,842 --> 00:11:11,204 Her friends described him as anti-social 231 00:11:11,310 --> 00:11:12,700 and a little bit creepy. 232 00:11:12,804 --> 00:11:15,307 But Catherine was willing to make excuses for him. 233 00:11:15,410 --> 00:11:18,607 Her husband was kind of a quiet guy. 234 00:11:18,711 --> 00:11:20,205 I didn't really talk to him very much. 235 00:11:20,309 --> 00:11:24,479 A burly man who often showed up, again, in a uniform, and I 236 00:11:24,584 --> 00:11:25,800 didn't really get to know him because he 237 00:11:25,904 --> 00:11:28,024 wasn't around very often. 238 00:11:28,128 --> 00:11:29,449 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 239 00:11:29,553 --> 00:11:32,020 Catherine, on the other hand, took to her new life 240 00:11:32,123 --> 00:11:34,000 like a fish to water. 241 00:11:34,105 --> 00:11:38,240 She sometimes babysat for my kids. 242 00:11:38,343 --> 00:11:41,298 I would bring my son over to play with her daughter, 243 00:11:41,402 --> 00:11:43,626 and our toddlers would play together. 244 00:11:43,730 --> 00:11:46,788 And she was also somebody who volunteered a lot. 245 00:11:46,892 --> 00:11:49,776 I was working at home a lot, and while I was working, 246 00:11:49,882 --> 00:11:52,835 she was donating her time to the school 247 00:11:52,939 --> 00:11:57,074 and making cupcakes and chaperoning children. 248 00:11:57,179 --> 00:11:58,186 LINDA RODRIGUEZ: She was a deacon 249 00:11:58,289 --> 00:12:00,097 in the local Lutheran church. 250 00:12:00,201 --> 00:12:03,156 She led her daughter's Girl Scout troop. 251 00:12:03,260 --> 00:12:05,658 She was almost a semi-professional volunteer. 252 00:12:05,761 --> 00:12:07,464 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): At the same time 253 00:12:07,568 --> 00:12:10,071 Catherine was becoming a professional mom, 254 00:12:10,175 --> 00:12:14,170 Paul spent most of his time living the life of a bachelor 255 00:12:14,274 --> 00:12:17,054 120 miles away. 256 00:12:17,158 --> 00:12:23,690 The real Paul Novak was cold, not social, 257 00:12:23,794 --> 00:12:29,181 had a porn addiction, was reckless in the extreme, 258 00:12:29,286 --> 00:12:32,831 was an adrenaline addict, as many EMTs 259 00:12:32,935 --> 00:12:34,497 will admit that they are. 260 00:12:34,602 --> 00:12:36,930 Pretty soon, Paul's big city addictions 261 00:12:37,034 --> 00:12:40,544 would begin spilling onto his family's small town life. 262 00:12:40,649 --> 00:12:43,846 And as we'll see, it wouldn't end well. 263 00:12:43,950 --> 00:12:47,217 [music playing] 264 00:12:58,683 --> 00:13:02,576 It's 2007, and Paul Novak is living it up, 265 00:13:02,680 --> 00:13:06,293 riding ambulances and saving lives as a paramedic 266 00:13:06,398 --> 00:13:08,100 in Queens, New York. 267 00:13:08,205 --> 00:13:11,228 In one night, a New York City paramedic might 268 00:13:11,332 --> 00:13:13,486 deal with 50 heart attacks. 269 00:13:13,591 --> 00:13:16,718 I mean, it's an incredible job that they have to do. 270 00:13:16,822 --> 00:13:21,478 And, clearly, has an effect on their mental health. 271 00:13:21,582 --> 00:13:24,119 Most paramedics privately admit that their job 272 00:13:24,224 --> 00:13:28,219 is a huge rush, even with all of the stress and trauma they 273 00:13:28,324 --> 00:13:30,825 experienced on a daily basis. 274 00:13:30,930 --> 00:13:34,266 But all of that adrenaline comes at a high price. 275 00:13:34,370 --> 00:13:37,846 And in the case of Paul Novak, that was a price 276 00:13:37,951 --> 00:13:41,945 he was more than willing to pay, and the cost was the life 277 00:13:42,050 --> 00:13:43,753 of his wife, Catherine. 278 00:13:43,857 --> 00:13:47,124 He had been talking about researching the perfect crime, 279 00:13:47,228 --> 00:13:49,069 how to hide a body, had-- 280 00:13:49,173 --> 00:13:53,031 had told his friends that he thought fire was the best 281 00:13:53,135 --> 00:13:57,304 way to hide a body, and had left a trail 282 00:13:57,409 --> 00:14:03,733 of crumbs about his guilt before the murder happened. 283 00:14:03,837 --> 00:14:08,493 He was looking into how to do this and get away with it. 284 00:14:08,597 --> 00:14:13,185 NINA BURLEIGH: All of these EMTs in his station were aware 285 00:14:13,289 --> 00:14:15,339 of different facets of this-- 286 00:14:15,443 --> 00:14:21,629 this malignant intent, and, incredibly, not one of them 287 00:14:21,733 --> 00:14:24,200 picked up the phone and called the police. 288 00:14:24,305 --> 00:14:25,833 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 289 00:14:25,937 --> 00:14:29,100 One of those people who failed to pick up the phone was Paul's 290 00:14:29,205 --> 00:14:31,776 fellow EMT, Scott Sherwood. 291 00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:35,945 Since Paul and Scott worked together as paramedics in Long 292 00:14:36,049 --> 00:14:39,872 Island, and they're in the ambulances together, 293 00:14:39,976 --> 00:14:42,721 they went and they had a lot of downtime. 294 00:14:42,825 --> 00:14:44,076 They spoke a lot. 295 00:14:44,181 --> 00:14:45,848 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 296 00:14:45,952 --> 00:14:49,672 Apparently, Paul's bromance with Scott wasn't surprising. 297 00:14:49,776 --> 00:14:51,929 By all accounts, everyone thought 298 00:14:52,035 --> 00:14:55,371 Scott was a really nice guy. 299 00:14:55,475 --> 00:14:56,760 He was a kind person. 300 00:14:56,865 --> 00:14:57,942 He is a kind person. 301 00:14:58,046 --> 00:14:59,262 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 302 00:14:59,366 --> 00:15:00,790 Paul opened up to Scott about his marriage, 303 00:15:00,894 --> 00:15:03,605 complaining that Catherine was always too busy to give 304 00:15:03,710 --> 00:15:05,690 them the attention he deserved. 305 00:15:05,794 --> 00:15:07,324 Paul might have felt like he was 306 00:15:07,428 --> 00:15:09,547 playing second fiddle to some degree to Catherine's duties. 307 00:15:09,651 --> 00:15:11,181 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 308 00:15:11,285 --> 00:15:15,038 Soon, Paul starts discussing all of the ways one might get rid 309 00:15:15,141 --> 00:15:16,531 of their wife. 310 00:15:16,636 --> 00:15:19,903 You know, if that's something someone wanted to do. 311 00:15:20,007 --> 00:15:24,211 Apparently, fire was best, because, according to Paul, 312 00:15:24,316 --> 00:15:27,373 it burned away all the evidence. 313 00:15:27,478 --> 00:15:30,467 He was cold and calculating and had been talking 314 00:15:30,571 --> 00:15:35,540 to his fellow paramedics about how much he didn't 315 00:15:35,643 --> 00:15:37,556 like his wife, how happy he would 316 00:15:37,660 --> 00:15:39,362 be if he could get rid of her. 317 00:15:39,466 --> 00:15:41,134 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 318 00:15:41,239 --> 00:15:43,080 Paul's buddies had overheard him saying to Catherine that she 319 00:15:43,183 --> 00:15:44,783 might be the mother of his children, 320 00:15:44,887 --> 00:15:48,223 but he could still kill her if he wanted to. 321 00:15:48,327 --> 00:15:50,933 Everyone wrote it off as Paul just venting 322 00:15:51,037 --> 00:15:52,810 and treated it like a joke. 323 00:15:52,914 --> 00:15:55,589 Later, they all wondered whether Paul was testing 324 00:15:55,693 --> 00:15:57,989 to see if one of them would actually 325 00:15:58,092 --> 00:16:00,662 volunteer to help him do it. 326 00:16:00,767 --> 00:16:04,833 It turns out, one of them did take the bait. 327 00:16:04,938 --> 00:16:06,918 It was Scott Sherwood. 328 00:16:07,022 --> 00:16:10,184 Scott had recently been going through a divorce. 329 00:16:10,288 --> 00:16:13,555 He was broke, depressed, and by all accounts, 330 00:16:13,659 --> 00:16:15,744 extremely vulnerable. 331 00:16:15,848 --> 00:16:19,879 I think when someone asked me the question, what caused such 332 00:16:19,984 --> 00:16:27,177 a nice person to do bad things, I think, in this case, 333 00:16:27,281 --> 00:16:30,548 it's less looking at Scott Sherwood 334 00:16:30,650 --> 00:16:34,543 and more looking at Paul Novak's ability to manipulate. 335 00:16:34,647 --> 00:16:36,176 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 336 00:16:36,281 --> 00:16:41,076 By 2007, Catherine Novak knew her marriage was on the rocks, 337 00:16:41,180 --> 00:16:42,814 but she wanted to make it work. 338 00:16:42,918 --> 00:16:45,941 When Paul said he also wanted to fix things, 339 00:16:46,045 --> 00:16:48,755 she felt like they might be turning the corner. 340 00:16:48,859 --> 00:16:52,230 The marriage was in trouble, or at least, it seemed 341 00:16:52,334 --> 00:16:54,454 to be to Catherine's friends. 342 00:16:54,558 --> 00:16:57,269 But on Valentine's Day, 2007, 10 years 343 00:16:57,373 --> 00:16:59,180 after they first got married, the couple 344 00:16:59,284 --> 00:17:00,363 decided to renew their vows. 345 00:17:00,467 --> 00:17:01,716 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 346 00:17:01,820 --> 00:17:04,010 Paul starts laying it on thick with Catherine, 347 00:17:04,113 --> 00:17:07,556 telling her how much she means to him, that he wants 348 00:17:07,660 --> 00:17:10,890 a fresh start, yada, yada. 349 00:17:10,995 --> 00:17:13,392 She's excited, but her friends can't help 350 00:17:13,496 --> 00:17:16,589 but feel like something isn't quite kosher. 351 00:17:16,693 --> 00:17:18,952 And it turns out, they're right. 352 00:17:19,056 --> 00:17:20,585 LINDA RODRIGUEZ: Not long after that, 353 00:17:20,689 --> 00:17:24,616 however, Paul took out a life insurance policy on Catherine. 354 00:17:24,721 --> 00:17:27,083 And it seemed a bit weird to her friends, 355 00:17:27,188 --> 00:17:29,515 but she defended it as a good decision 356 00:17:29,619 --> 00:17:31,114 for their children and their family, 357 00:17:31,218 --> 00:17:33,303 just looking out for the best interests of their family. 358 00:17:33,407 --> 00:17:35,388 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): A few weeks later, 359 00:17:35,492 --> 00:17:37,648 for some reason, Paul decides to fess 360 00:17:37,751 --> 00:17:39,593 up and admit to Catherine that he's 361 00:17:39,698 --> 00:17:41,921 not really in love with her. 362 00:17:42,025 --> 00:17:43,277 She's shattered. 363 00:17:43,381 --> 00:17:45,778 Paul stops coming home every weekend, 364 00:17:45,882 --> 00:17:49,532 sleeping in the spare room the few times that he does. 365 00:17:49,636 --> 00:17:51,860 Even the times that I would maybe 366 00:17:51,964 --> 00:17:56,585 drop off a kid at her house or interact with her at her house, 367 00:17:56,690 --> 00:18:00,200 I don't recall ever seeing him in that little cottage. 368 00:18:00,304 --> 00:18:02,075 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): One early morning, 369 00:18:02,180 --> 00:18:05,446 in February, 2008, Catherine finally 370 00:18:05,550 --> 00:18:09,407 realizes that her marriage is really over when she answers 371 00:18:09,511 --> 00:18:14,655 the phone and hears the voice of a drunk woman on the other end. 372 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:17,434 She asked for Paul Novak, and it was at that moment 373 00:18:17,539 --> 00:18:19,450 that Catherine realized that her husband was 374 00:18:19,554 --> 00:18:20,666 definitely having an affair. 375 00:18:20,770 --> 00:18:21,883 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 376 00:18:21,987 --> 00:18:24,419 The drunk voice belonged to a young woman 377 00:18:24,523 --> 00:18:26,920 named Michelle La France. 378 00:18:27,025 --> 00:18:32,307 The plan came out in probably November, December. 379 00:18:32,412 --> 00:18:33,732 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 380 00:18:33,836 --> 00:18:37,902 Which begs the question, who is Michelle LaFrance? 381 00:18:38,005 --> 00:18:43,113 Paul's girlfriend was an unstable character anyway. 382 00:18:43,218 --> 00:18:44,643 She was a fellow EMT. 383 00:18:44,747 --> 00:18:46,311 She was much younger than he. 384 00:18:46,415 --> 00:18:49,611 Michelle LaFrance, a 25-year-old university student, 385 00:18:49,716 --> 00:18:53,434 had been assigned to the hospital ambulance's group 386 00:18:53,538 --> 00:18:54,859 that Paul drove with. 387 00:18:54,963 --> 00:18:58,994 She'd had a history of suicide attempts, 388 00:18:59,099 --> 00:19:03,859 and her mental state was, at times, a bit shaky. 389 00:19:03,963 --> 00:19:10,114 She was not somebody who had any business 390 00:19:10,218 --> 00:19:15,604 being in charge of life or death decisions 391 00:19:15,708 --> 00:19:17,167 that are made by paramedics. 392 00:19:17,271 --> 00:19:19,461 And yet, she was riding as a paramedic. 393 00:19:19,565 --> 00:19:22,067 She was-- she was certified in New York. 394 00:19:22,171 --> 00:19:23,526 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 395 00:19:23,630 --> 00:19:26,237 Paul and Michelle's relationship blossomed the way 396 00:19:26,341 --> 00:19:28,565 these things usually do. 397 00:19:28,670 --> 00:19:32,631 You know, battling to save lives on the streets of New York. 398 00:19:32,736 --> 00:19:35,897 I mean, the first time Michelle successfully intubated 399 00:19:36,001 --> 00:19:39,337 a patient, she texted Paul, who took her out for a drink 400 00:19:39,442 --> 00:19:40,866 after to celebrate. 401 00:19:40,970 --> 00:19:45,280 I mean the whole story really hinges on this-- 402 00:19:45,384 --> 00:19:48,545 this underworld or this community of paramedics who, 403 00:19:48,649 --> 00:19:53,515 you know, were witnesses to Paul Novak's bizarre behavior. 404 00:19:53,619 --> 00:19:54,662 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 405 00:19:54,766 --> 00:19:56,260 Michelle was everything Paul ever 406 00:19:56,365 --> 00:20:01,125 wanted in a woman, young, pretty, and totally infatuated 407 00:20:01,229 --> 00:20:02,272 with him. 408 00:20:02,376 --> 00:20:04,670 They fell head over heels for each other. 409 00:20:04,774 --> 00:20:09,256 And when Catherine found out, she kicked Paul out for good. 410 00:20:09,361 --> 00:20:11,966 NINA BURLEIGH: I was standing in the yard, and I said hello, 411 00:20:12,072 --> 00:20:13,322 and she said hello. 412 00:20:13,426 --> 00:20:15,025 And she said, oh, I've been looking for you. 413 00:20:15,129 --> 00:20:16,623 And right away, she said, well, I've 414 00:20:16,728 --> 00:20:20,445 been looking for you because my husband's having an affair, 415 00:20:20,549 --> 00:20:23,572 and I need to get a job. 416 00:20:23,677 --> 00:20:25,657 I said, oh, I'm sorry. 417 00:20:25,761 --> 00:20:29,029 And she sort of giggled and acted like it didn't matter 418 00:20:29,132 --> 00:20:31,148 that much that he was having an affair, 419 00:20:31,252 --> 00:20:34,031 didn't go into any of the details, and just said, 420 00:20:34,136 --> 00:20:35,214 I need to get a job. 421 00:20:35,318 --> 00:20:36,568 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 422 00:20:36,673 --> 00:20:39,175 Paul similarly felt like a weight had been lifted 423 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:42,511 and was ready to move on with his life. 424 00:20:42,615 --> 00:20:44,908 Soon after Catherine found out about the affair, 425 00:20:45,013 --> 00:20:48,210 Novak moved into an apartment in Glen Cove, Long Island 426 00:20:48,313 --> 00:20:49,634 with LaFrance. 427 00:20:49,738 --> 00:20:54,117 Novak agreed to pay $1,700 a month in child support 428 00:20:54,221 --> 00:20:56,376 and agreed to take the children every other weekend. 429 00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:58,112 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): For her part, 430 00:20:58,217 --> 00:21:02,388 Catherine saw her split with Paul as a once in a lifetime 431 00:21:02,492 --> 00:21:05,340 opportunity and made the most of it, 432 00:21:05,445 --> 00:21:09,790 taking up two part-time jobs. 433 00:21:09,893 --> 00:21:12,639 She even took her husband's new girlfriend out 434 00:21:12,743 --> 00:21:16,182 to lunch to make peace before letting the kids visit her 435 00:21:16,286 --> 00:21:18,163 and Paul on Long Island. 436 00:21:18,266 --> 00:21:20,838 Doesn't it sound like a happy ending? 437 00:21:20,942 --> 00:21:22,820 LINDA RODRIGUEZ: Catherine filed for divorce, 438 00:21:22,923 --> 00:21:25,529 and they began talking about a settlement. 439 00:21:25,634 --> 00:21:29,318 At the same time, Novak was starting to badmouth Catherine, 440 00:21:29,422 --> 00:21:34,078 calling her an unfit mother, calling her a fat, ugly troll. 441 00:21:34,182 --> 00:21:38,595 He had me convinced that Catherine's was the bad guy. 442 00:21:38,699 --> 00:21:39,951 He was the good parent. 443 00:21:40,055 --> 00:21:42,174 His kids were abused, his kids were miserable. 444 00:21:42,278 --> 00:21:42,938 Did this for the kids? 445 00:21:43,044 --> 00:21:44,225 We need to save the kids. 446 00:21:44,329 --> 00:21:45,545 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 447 00:21:45,649 --> 00:21:47,144 Paul would call Catherine to argue 448 00:21:47,248 --> 00:21:49,715 about money or about the kids. 449 00:21:49,819 --> 00:21:51,348 He was relentless. 450 00:21:51,452 --> 00:21:55,553 But Catherine was determined to stay positive about the future, 451 00:21:55,657 --> 00:21:58,228 even though she was starting to feel less and less safe 452 00:21:58,333 --> 00:22:01,773 in the home she once shared with Paul. 453 00:22:01,877 --> 00:22:03,650 Catherine was increasingly anxious. 454 00:22:03,753 --> 00:22:06,254 And even though it doesn't seem like there were 455 00:22:06,360 --> 00:22:08,306 any direct threats against her safety, 456 00:22:08,410 --> 00:22:11,641 she did pay a neighbor to change the locks on the house. 457 00:22:11,746 --> 00:22:14,248 Catherine's instincts are not wrong. 458 00:22:14,352 --> 00:22:16,228 The heroic man she'd married, who 459 00:22:16,333 --> 00:22:19,008 had dedicated his entire life to saving others, 460 00:22:19,113 --> 00:22:21,476 was turning out to be a monster. 461 00:22:21,580 --> 00:22:25,194 Not only that, but he knows where she lives 462 00:22:25,297 --> 00:22:29,294 and just what he would do if he ever caught her there alone. 463 00:22:33,082 --> 00:22:35,827 We were up here for Christmas, and we were actually 464 00:22:35,931 --> 00:22:38,676 having a holiday dinner at a friend's 465 00:22:38,780 --> 00:22:41,734 house outside of Narrowsburg, and the local paper 466 00:22:41,839 --> 00:22:43,297 was on the table. 467 00:22:43,401 --> 00:22:47,677 And I looked at it, and there was a color picture on it 468 00:22:47,780 --> 00:22:51,603 of a fire or a charred house, and 469 00:22:51,706 --> 00:22:55,528 underneath it said, and I'm paraphrasing, 470 00:22:55,633 --> 00:22:57,822 local woman dies in a fire. 471 00:22:57,927 --> 00:23:00,289 It seems like Paul had finally decided 472 00:23:00,394 --> 00:23:04,529 to cash in on his ex-wife's life insurance policy. 473 00:23:04,634 --> 00:23:06,858 What is he telling you that he wants to do? 474 00:23:06,962 --> 00:23:08,004 Or how does that come about? 475 00:23:08,108 --> 00:23:10,680 That he was gonna kill Catherine. 476 00:23:10,784 --> 00:23:13,877 [music playing] 477 00:23:31,529 --> 00:23:34,692 Early on the morning of December 13, 2008, 478 00:23:34,797 --> 00:23:37,471 neighbors awakened to the sight of smoke pouring 479 00:23:37,576 --> 00:23:40,147 from the cottage that Catherine Novak once 480 00:23:40,250 --> 00:23:42,753 shared with her husband, Paul. 481 00:23:42,857 --> 00:23:45,603 Firefighters in Sullivan County were alerted to a fire. 482 00:23:45,706 --> 00:23:47,722 Some people thought it was the sunrise, 483 00:23:47,826 --> 00:23:51,892 but somebody nearby recognized it was a fire. 484 00:23:51,996 --> 00:23:54,255 and called the police. 485 00:23:54,359 --> 00:23:57,313 Firefighters were on the scene by 6:46 that morning, 486 00:23:57,417 --> 00:24:01,622 and what they discovered was a fully engaged, raging fire. 487 00:24:01,726 --> 00:24:03,046 It was a cold morning. 488 00:24:03,150 --> 00:24:05,756 It was December. 489 00:24:05,862 --> 00:24:08,329 The police arrived, and the house was almost 490 00:24:08,432 --> 00:24:10,032 burned to the ground already. 491 00:24:10,136 --> 00:24:11,490 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 492 00:24:11,595 --> 00:24:13,645 Even though it was cold enough for the firefighters 493 00:24:13,749 --> 00:24:16,390 to have ice in their boots, the fire 494 00:24:16,495 --> 00:24:20,872 engulfing the small cottage took them hours to put out. 495 00:24:20,976 --> 00:24:25,043 When the smoke finally cleared, they made a gruesome discovery 496 00:24:25,147 --> 00:24:26,815 in the basement. 497 00:24:26,919 --> 00:24:29,734 Firefighters began the task of sifting through the ashes 498 00:24:29,839 --> 00:24:32,548 to see who might have even been in there. 499 00:24:32,652 --> 00:24:36,127 And they found Catherine's body on the floor, 500 00:24:36,231 --> 00:24:40,748 and the dog in a kennel, also dead. 501 00:24:40,853 --> 00:24:42,278 She had been crushed at some point 502 00:24:42,382 --> 00:24:46,587 by falling debris when the house collapsed in the fire. 503 00:24:46,691 --> 00:24:47,768 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 504 00:24:47,872 --> 00:24:50,062 News of Catherine's death quickly 505 00:24:50,165 --> 00:24:54,023 spread through the small community of Narrowsburg. 506 00:24:54,127 --> 00:24:55,031 She was a volunteer. 507 00:24:55,134 --> 00:24:57,151 She was a born volunteer, a giver. 508 00:24:57,255 --> 00:25:00,034 And there aren't a lot of people like that. 509 00:25:00,138 --> 00:25:01,598 And communities depend on them. 510 00:25:01,703 --> 00:25:05,004 They're often unsung, and she was one of those people. 511 00:25:05,108 --> 00:25:07,436 And so she left a hole, in that sense. 512 00:25:07,540 --> 00:25:09,347 That's a loss for the community. 513 00:25:09,452 --> 00:25:10,945 She could have been somebody I could 514 00:25:11,049 --> 00:25:13,412 have seen running for office. 515 00:25:13,516 --> 00:25:15,116 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): As shocking 516 00:25:15,219 --> 00:25:17,722 as Catherine's death was, everyone 517 00:25:17,826 --> 00:25:22,587 quickly realized it could have been much, much worse. 518 00:25:22,690 --> 00:25:23,837 LINDA RODRIGUEZ: When firefighters 519 00:25:23,941 --> 00:25:25,609 searched the debris, they weren't sure 520 00:25:25,713 --> 00:25:27,069 who they were going to find. 521 00:25:27,174 --> 00:25:29,363 They knew that two children lived at the address, 522 00:25:29,467 --> 00:25:31,726 but what they didn't know is that they had been spending 523 00:25:31,830 --> 00:25:34,436 the night at their father's house 100 miles away 524 00:25:34,540 --> 00:25:35,617 in Long Island that night. 525 00:25:35,722 --> 00:25:37,111 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 526 00:25:37,216 --> 00:25:39,266 Those who knew about Catherine's nasty split 527 00:25:39,370 --> 00:25:41,769 with Paul immediately felt something wasn't 528 00:25:41,872 --> 00:25:45,138 right about the fire, especially considering 529 00:25:45,242 --> 00:25:50,212 how Paul had recently demanded full custody of the kids. 530 00:25:50,315 --> 00:25:53,444 I went along Main Street, talked to some people 531 00:25:53,548 --> 00:25:57,336 that I knew, I think at one of the shops, 532 00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:02,825 and I asked what they had heard, and the person I was talking to 533 00:26:02,930 --> 00:26:09,255 said, oh, yeah, everybody here is very suspicious about that. 534 00:26:09,359 --> 00:26:11,130 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): At the same time, 535 00:26:11,234 --> 00:26:13,945 detectives investigating the cause of the fire 536 00:26:14,050 --> 00:26:18,080 had a sense things weren't adding up. 537 00:26:18,184 --> 00:26:21,937 She had been found lying on the basement floor on her back 538 00:26:22,041 --> 00:26:23,536 with her arms outstretched. 539 00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:27,600 Underneath her, however, the back of her body wasn't burned. 540 00:26:27,705 --> 00:26:29,408 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): Forensic experts 541 00:26:29,513 --> 00:26:31,284 couldn't understand why Catherine had 542 00:26:31,389 --> 00:26:33,439 been found lying on her back. 543 00:26:33,543 --> 00:26:37,540 Most fire victims are discovered curled in the fetal position 544 00:26:37,643 --> 00:26:39,416 to protect themselves. 545 00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:44,385 So that was one clue something wasn't right. 546 00:26:44,489 --> 00:26:46,817 And then, there was one other small problem. 547 00:26:46,922 --> 00:26:52,689 Catherine's autopsy showed no evidence of smoke inhalation. 548 00:26:52,794 --> 00:26:57,486 The medical examiner concluded that the dog 549 00:26:57,589 --> 00:26:59,015 died of smoke inhalation. 550 00:26:59,119 --> 00:27:03,253 The dog had smoke in its lungs, but Catherine did not. 551 00:27:03,358 --> 00:27:05,095 An autopsy later found that the levels 552 00:27:05,199 --> 00:27:07,597 of carbon monoxide in Catherine's lungs 553 00:27:07,701 --> 00:27:09,648 were not sufficient to kill her. 554 00:27:09,752 --> 00:27:12,045 Instead, they believe that she had died when 555 00:27:12,149 --> 00:27:14,269 the debris crushed her chest. 556 00:27:14,374 --> 00:27:17,917 And there were people in the state police, 557 00:27:18,021 --> 00:27:21,740 and especially, the fire department here, who suspected 558 00:27:21,845 --> 00:27:24,695 that that was not accurate. 559 00:27:24,799 --> 00:27:26,744 But there was nothing they could do about it. 560 00:27:26,848 --> 00:27:28,168 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): OK, 561 00:27:28,273 --> 00:27:30,671 so if Catherine didn't die from smoke inhalation, 562 00:27:30,775 --> 00:27:34,771 and hadn't been crushed to death, then how did she die? 563 00:27:34,875 --> 00:27:37,724 One clue that Catherine's death was no accident 564 00:27:37,828 --> 00:27:42,624 also came up during her autopsy, three badly dislocated ribs 565 00:27:42,728 --> 00:27:45,230 with a large amount of bleeding around the site 566 00:27:45,333 --> 00:27:49,574 of the fractures, suggesting that she had been violently 567 00:27:49,678 --> 00:27:52,979 assaulted before she died. 568 00:27:53,083 --> 00:27:55,029 To those who knew Catherine, there could 569 00:27:55,133 --> 00:27:58,331 only be one person responsible. 570 00:27:58,436 --> 00:27:59,860 I remember picking up the phone 571 00:27:59,964 --> 00:28:03,508 and calling the state police and saying, you're aware, 572 00:28:03,612 --> 00:28:11,223 of course, that she was, you know, engaged in a divorce. 573 00:28:11,327 --> 00:28:13,098 And he said, yes. 574 00:28:13,202 --> 00:28:14,733 LINDA RODRIGUEZ: Police and firefighters had 575 00:28:14,837 --> 00:28:17,304 their suspicions at that point. 576 00:28:17,409 --> 00:28:21,126 They questioned Paul Novak about his whereabouts that night. 577 00:28:21,230 --> 00:28:22,862 His girlfriend, Michelle LaFrance, 578 00:28:22,967 --> 00:28:24,566 said that he had been home all night. 579 00:28:24,670 --> 00:28:25,956 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 580 00:28:26,060 --> 00:28:28,075 Paul, of course, claimed to be innocent, 581 00:28:28,179 --> 00:28:30,299 saying that he'd been shocked to hear 582 00:28:30,404 --> 00:28:33,844 of Catherine's untimely demise. 583 00:28:33,948 --> 00:28:36,625 I actually found out that they found a body 584 00:28:36,729 --> 00:28:40,688 in the-- in the basement from my mother, 585 00:28:40,794 --> 00:28:43,644 who found out from one of the volunteer 586 00:28:43,748 --> 00:28:45,484 firefighters that was there. 587 00:28:45,588 --> 00:28:49,829 So when I initially went to the state police, as directed, to-- 588 00:28:49,933 --> 00:28:53,442 to give-- you know, to give my statement as they wanted, 589 00:28:53,547 --> 00:28:55,006 they told me that-- 590 00:28:55,110 --> 00:28:57,334 at that point, they told me that a body was found there, 591 00:28:57,438 --> 00:28:59,801 but they weren't sure if it was Catherine's. 592 00:28:59,905 --> 00:29:06,160 They interviewed him, he had an airtight alibi, and they-- 593 00:29:06,264 --> 00:29:07,134 they let him go. 594 00:29:07,238 --> 00:29:09,844 And 10 days after the fire, Paul 595 00:29:09,948 --> 00:29:11,408 passed a lie detector test. 596 00:29:11,512 --> 00:29:14,222 They had really no choice but to rule it as an accident. 597 00:29:14,326 --> 00:29:15,542 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 598 00:29:15,646 --> 00:29:17,800 Paul was in the clear, but for some reason, 599 00:29:17,905 --> 00:29:21,276 he still didn't seem all that broken up that the mother 600 00:29:21,380 --> 00:29:23,396 of his children was dead. 601 00:29:23,500 --> 00:29:26,419 Paul didn't attend Catherine's funeral. 602 00:29:26,523 --> 00:29:28,538 Instead, he took the children, dropped 603 00:29:28,642 --> 00:29:31,632 them off at the service, and then picked them up afterwards. 604 00:29:31,736 --> 00:29:33,508 Later, when they went to the graveside, 605 00:29:33,612 --> 00:29:37,226 he again dropped them off, walked them up to the coffin, 606 00:29:37,330 --> 00:29:39,485 and left them with Catherine's relatives. 607 00:29:39,589 --> 00:29:40,701 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 608 00:29:40,805 --> 00:29:42,438 Alive, Catherine Novak had little value 609 00:29:42,542 --> 00:29:46,052 to Paul, but dead, that was apparently another story. 610 00:29:46,156 --> 00:29:47,858 LINDA RODRIGUEZ: Not long after Catherine's death, 611 00:29:47,962 --> 00:29:50,848 Novak left his job as an EMT in New York City. 612 00:29:50,952 --> 00:29:55,886 Paul Novak then cashed in at $800,000 insurance policy 613 00:29:55,990 --> 00:29:58,491 and moved himself and his girlfriend 614 00:29:58,596 --> 00:30:02,071 and his two kids to a house that he bought for himself 615 00:30:02,175 --> 00:30:05,684 in Florida with an ingrown saltwater pool 616 00:30:05,788 --> 00:30:09,298 and was aiming to live happily ever after. 617 00:30:09,404 --> 00:30:10,724 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 618 00:30:10,828 --> 00:30:13,086 The official ruling is that Catherine's death was 619 00:30:13,191 --> 00:30:15,762 an accident, which means Paul's free to start 620 00:30:15,867 --> 00:30:18,160 living the high life. 621 00:30:18,264 --> 00:30:21,704 He's got a hot girlfriend, custody of his kids, 622 00:30:21,808 --> 00:30:24,520 and a boatload of cash, pretty much 623 00:30:24,624 --> 00:30:29,245 everything he's always wanted, except it still isn't enough. 624 00:30:29,350 --> 00:30:32,510 He wants even more. 625 00:30:32,616 --> 00:30:34,491 Paul and Michelle's relationship was troubled, 626 00:30:34,596 --> 00:30:37,133 and by early 2012, Michelle believed 627 00:30:37,237 --> 00:30:39,982 that Paul was having an affair. 628 00:30:40,086 --> 00:30:43,770 Very soon after they were living together, 629 00:30:43,874 --> 00:30:44,951 they started to fight. 630 00:30:45,056 --> 00:30:46,550 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 631 00:30:46,654 --> 00:30:48,739 Michelle discovers Paul has been shacking up with a woman 632 00:30:48,843 --> 00:30:50,024 he met online. 633 00:30:50,128 --> 00:30:52,284 Apparently, she needed someone to remind 634 00:30:52,386 --> 00:30:57,739 her of the old saying, once a cheater, always a cheater. 635 00:30:57,843 --> 00:31:02,812 By the summer of 2012, Novak and Michelle had split up. 636 00:31:02,916 --> 00:31:05,036 And eventually, she moved out of the house 637 00:31:05,140 --> 00:31:07,017 that she shared with him and the kids, 638 00:31:07,122 --> 00:31:09,449 moved into her own apartment in Florida, 639 00:31:09,553 --> 00:31:13,689 and would later tell police that she had dreams, 640 00:31:13,793 --> 00:31:16,226 nightmares that he was coming to kill her in the way 641 00:31:16,329 --> 00:31:17,475 that he had killed Catherine. 642 00:31:17,580 --> 00:31:19,039 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 643 00:31:19,144 --> 00:31:22,168 Michelle manages to find herself a new boyfriend, who also 644 00:31:22,271 --> 00:31:24,426 happens to be a police officer. 645 00:31:24,531 --> 00:31:27,657 But she's still having trouble leaving her past behind 646 00:31:27,761 --> 00:31:30,472 and can't shake the feeling that it's time to come 647 00:31:30,577 --> 00:31:32,453 clean about what she knows. 648 00:31:32,557 --> 00:31:35,962 He had described to her how he had killed Catherine, 649 00:31:36,067 --> 00:31:38,081 and she couldn't get that out of her head. 650 00:31:38,186 --> 00:31:41,731 Michelle had started dating a police officer, 651 00:31:41,835 --> 00:31:45,657 and she started to feel a little bit guilty about some 652 00:31:45,761 --> 00:31:48,298 of the things that she had told the police in 2008 653 00:31:48,403 --> 00:31:51,113 after the death of Novak's wife, Catherine. 654 00:31:51,217 --> 00:31:55,247 That police deputy urged her to contact the New York State 655 00:31:55,353 --> 00:31:56,708 Police, which she then did. 656 00:31:56,812 --> 00:31:58,236 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): At this point, 657 00:31:58,340 --> 00:32:00,842 Michelle finally decides to do the right thing. 658 00:32:00,947 --> 00:32:04,387 Better late than never, I guess. 659 00:32:04,491 --> 00:32:07,340 That summer Michele contacted the New York State Police, 660 00:32:07,445 --> 00:32:09,808 and in exchange for immunity, she told them 661 00:32:09,912 --> 00:32:13,074 that she had lied in her statement in 2008 662 00:32:13,179 --> 00:32:15,193 about the death of Catherine. 663 00:32:15,298 --> 00:32:16,723 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 664 00:32:16,827 --> 00:32:21,519 So was Michelle's decision to fess up guilt or revenge? 665 00:32:21,623 --> 00:32:24,888 Either way, the funny thing is that if Paul had just 666 00:32:24,992 --> 00:32:27,912 been a good boyfriend, Michelle probably would 667 00:32:28,016 --> 00:32:29,996 never have opened her mouth. 668 00:32:30,101 --> 00:32:34,166 Instead, she started singing like a canary. 669 00:32:34,271 --> 00:32:36,286 What is he telling you that he wants to do? 670 00:32:36,392 --> 00:32:37,433 Or how does that come about? 671 00:32:37,538 --> 00:32:41,464 That he was gonna kill Catherine. 672 00:32:41,568 --> 00:32:45,321 At this point, Paul's house of cards is about to collapse. 673 00:32:45,425 --> 00:32:48,379 As Michelle comes clean about everything, 674 00:32:48,484 --> 00:32:50,464 the details surrounding Catherine's death 675 00:32:50,568 --> 00:32:53,175 started to become clear, and it isn't 676 00:32:53,279 --> 00:32:56,232 looking good for Paul Novak. 677 00:32:56,337 --> 00:32:57,831 Paul was very calm. 678 00:32:57,935 --> 00:32:58,769 Very calm? 679 00:32:58,874 --> 00:32:59,604 But did he-- 680 00:32:59,708 --> 00:33:01,584 Very calm, very controlled. 681 00:33:01,689 --> 00:33:02,973 DETECTIVE: Did you kill your wife? 682 00:33:03,077 --> 00:33:04,051 No, I did not. 683 00:33:08,325 --> 00:33:11,417 [music playing] 684 00:33:21,182 --> 00:33:23,719 In a Florida police interrogation room, 685 00:33:23,823 --> 00:33:26,743 Michelle LaFrance calmly walks police detectives 686 00:33:26,847 --> 00:33:29,903 through Paul Novak's plan to kill his wife, Catherine, 687 00:33:30,008 --> 00:33:32,962 and she isn't holding anything back. 688 00:33:33,066 --> 00:33:35,463 He was gonna be down on the weekend that we had the kids, 689 00:33:35,568 --> 00:33:37,514 and he was gonna burn the house down, 690 00:33:37,619 --> 00:33:41,197 and, you know, he's up there in the middle of nowhere, 691 00:33:41,302 --> 00:33:43,665 and nobody would know, nobody would see it. 692 00:33:43,769 --> 00:33:47,001 Investigators flew to Florida and interviewed LaFrance 693 00:33:47,106 --> 00:33:48,633 for more than six hours. 694 00:33:48,738 --> 00:33:51,692 She told them that she had lied about Paul Novak's whereabouts 695 00:33:51,796 --> 00:33:54,784 that night, and that instead of him being at home with her 696 00:33:54,888 --> 00:33:58,154 in Glen Cove, he and his sometime partner, Scott 697 00:33:58,258 --> 00:34:00,865 Sherwood, had actually driven to Narrowsburg, New 698 00:34:00,969 --> 00:34:03,923 York, set fire to the house where Catherine 699 00:34:04,028 --> 00:34:05,521 lived, and killed her. 700 00:34:05,625 --> 00:34:10,177 The reason why I think Paul Novak needed Scott Sherwood is 701 00:34:10,281 --> 00:34:13,687 that Paul didn't want his car to be 702 00:34:13,791 --> 00:34:17,822 traced to his ex wife's house when he 703 00:34:17,927 --> 00:34:19,004 was going to try to murder her. 704 00:34:19,108 --> 00:34:20,359 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 705 00:34:20,464 --> 00:34:22,304 Michelle's testimony was all the cops 706 00:34:22,409 --> 00:34:26,892 needed to arrest Paul Novak and his accomplice, Scott Sherwood. 707 00:34:26,997 --> 00:34:30,923 But even then, Paul insisted he was innocent. 708 00:34:31,027 --> 00:34:32,521 DETECTIVE: Did you kill your wife? 709 00:34:32,626 --> 00:34:33,598 No, I did not. 710 00:34:33,703 --> 00:34:35,404 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 711 00:34:35,510 --> 00:34:38,533 According to his lawyer, Scott Sherwood was actually relieved 712 00:34:38,638 --> 00:34:41,834 to finally be able to confess. 713 00:34:41,938 --> 00:34:47,289 He helped corroborate what Michelle LaFrance testified to, 714 00:34:47,393 --> 00:34:52,502 and I truly believe everyone saw what type of person 715 00:34:52,606 --> 00:34:54,205 he really was. 716 00:34:54,310 --> 00:34:57,957 It's-- you talk to him for a minute, 717 00:34:58,061 --> 00:35:01,259 you saw how earnest he was, that he truly 718 00:35:01,363 --> 00:35:03,552 wanted to do the right thing. 719 00:35:03,657 --> 00:35:06,506 And probably, if it was up to him, 720 00:35:06,610 --> 00:35:09,182 he would have cooperated from minute one. 721 00:35:09,286 --> 00:35:12,273 Scott Sherwood pled guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, 722 00:35:12,378 --> 00:35:14,082 and in exchange for a shorter sentence, 723 00:35:14,186 --> 00:35:16,235 he agreed to testify against Novak. 724 00:35:16,339 --> 00:35:19,779 He told police and the jury what happened that night. 725 00:35:19,884 --> 00:35:21,413 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 726 00:35:21,518 --> 00:35:24,089 Michelle and Scott's testimony broke the case of Catherine's 727 00:35:24,193 --> 00:35:27,389 death wide open, and the detectives on the case 728 00:35:27,494 --> 00:35:30,065 couldn't believe what they were hearing. 729 00:35:30,169 --> 00:35:33,228 But can you see anger building up at all? 730 00:35:33,332 --> 00:35:35,207 Or is Paul talking about-- 731 00:35:35,312 --> 00:35:36,528 Paul is very calm. 732 00:35:36,632 --> 00:35:37,536 Very calm? 733 00:35:37,640 --> 00:35:40,594 Very calm, very controlled. 734 00:35:40,698 --> 00:35:41,776 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 735 00:35:41,881 --> 00:35:43,617 Apparently, Paul was sick of making 736 00:35:43,721 --> 00:35:45,494 monthly payments to his wife. 737 00:35:45,598 --> 00:35:48,343 He didn't want to split custody of the kids. 738 00:35:48,447 --> 00:35:52,478 Basically, Catherine was a major thorn in his side. 739 00:35:52,583 --> 00:35:55,224 So in the winter of 2008, he started 740 00:35:55,328 --> 00:35:57,551 making plans to remove her. 741 00:35:57,656 --> 00:36:01,826 He had me convinced that Catherine was the bad guy. 742 00:36:01,930 --> 00:36:03,354 He was the good parent. 743 00:36:03,460 --> 00:36:04,884 And his kids were abused, and his kids were miserable. 744 00:36:04,988 --> 00:36:05,927 Did this for the kids? 745 00:36:06,031 --> 00:36:07,976 And we need to save the kids. 746 00:36:08,080 --> 00:36:09,679 Where are you having that conversation? 747 00:36:09,783 --> 00:36:11,277 In our apartment in Glen Cove. 748 00:36:11,382 --> 00:36:17,012 Was it-- trying to be a savior, but how 749 00:36:17,115 --> 00:36:18,263 does the conversation go? 750 00:36:18,366 --> 00:36:19,236 Like, what is he-- what is he telling 751 00:36:19,340 --> 00:36:20,556 you that he wants to do? 752 00:36:20,660 --> 00:36:22,396 Or how does that come about? 753 00:36:22,501 --> 00:36:24,933 He was gonna kill Catherine. 754 00:36:25,038 --> 00:36:27,122 And he says that to you? 755 00:36:27,226 --> 00:36:28,652 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 756 00:36:28,757 --> 00:36:31,989 Paul's EMT training was a huge factor in figuring out 757 00:36:32,093 --> 00:36:35,706 the cleanest way to kill Catherine while leaving behind 758 00:36:35,810 --> 00:36:38,382 as little evidence as possible. 759 00:36:38,486 --> 00:36:41,265 He was going to chloroform her, leave her, and then 760 00:36:41,370 --> 00:36:42,551 burn the house down around her, and she 761 00:36:42,655 --> 00:36:45,018 was gonna die in the fire. 762 00:36:45,122 --> 00:36:46,826 That was his plan. 763 00:36:46,930 --> 00:36:51,934 And we were gonna do it on a weekend that, you know, 764 00:36:52,038 --> 00:36:53,602 we had the kids so the kids would be safe. 765 00:36:53,706 --> 00:36:54,957 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 766 00:36:55,061 --> 00:36:57,737 To pull it all off, Paul needed an accomplice. 767 00:36:57,840 --> 00:36:59,647 He didn't want his car seen anywhere 768 00:36:59,752 --> 00:37:01,768 nearing Narrowsburg that night. 769 00:37:01,872 --> 00:37:06,285 The guy who drove Paul Novak up here to-- 770 00:37:06,389 --> 00:37:09,795 to commit the murder that night was a fellow EMT. 771 00:37:09,898 --> 00:37:13,791 Having someone else's car would be in his best interest. 772 00:37:13,895 --> 00:37:15,633 But why was such a sweet guy like 773 00:37:15,737 --> 00:37:18,343 Scott Sherwood willing to get involved 774 00:37:18,447 --> 00:37:20,393 in cold-blooded murder? 775 00:37:20,497 --> 00:37:24,597 Paul learned a lot of intimate facts about Scott's life, 776 00:37:24,701 --> 00:37:28,316 mostly about a messy divorce that he'd been going through 777 00:37:28,420 --> 00:37:31,513 and the pain he was suffering because of that. 778 00:37:31,617 --> 00:37:34,258 Scott Sherwood, Novak's sometime partner, 779 00:37:34,363 --> 00:37:38,428 was a large man, and he was also emotionally unstable. 780 00:37:38,533 --> 00:37:39,921 He had recently gone through divorce 781 00:37:40,026 --> 00:37:42,528 and had a history of bipolar disorder. 782 00:37:42,632 --> 00:37:45,412 He felt an affinity with Paul Novak. 783 00:37:45,516 --> 00:37:48,192 Scott, being the kind person that he is, 784 00:37:48,296 --> 00:37:52,640 wanted to try to help Paul with not being in pain. 785 00:37:52,744 --> 00:37:55,454 The problem is that the road to hell 786 00:37:55,558 --> 00:37:57,156 is paved with good intentions. 787 00:37:57,261 --> 00:38:01,327 Why did he do this to Catherine? 788 00:38:01,431 --> 00:38:03,586 Well, he said it to me, because I 789 00:38:03,690 --> 00:38:05,149 don't wanna end up like you. 790 00:38:05,254 --> 00:38:08,312 And you being having gone through a very rough divorce 791 00:38:08,416 --> 00:38:11,961 and on a very difficult predicament with your ex, 792 00:38:12,065 --> 00:38:14,323 and, obviously, you're not happy about that. 793 00:38:14,429 --> 00:38:18,006 You can manipulate even good people to do the wrong thing. 794 00:38:18,111 --> 00:38:21,169 And you just need someone with some very twisted morals 795 00:38:21,273 --> 00:38:22,350 to do that. 796 00:38:22,454 --> 00:38:23,497 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 797 00:38:23,601 --> 00:38:25,095 Now that he had Scott in the bag, 798 00:38:25,199 --> 00:38:28,188 Paul had everything he needed to put his plan into action. 799 00:38:28,292 --> 00:38:31,837 On the night of December 12, Sherwood went to Novak's Glen 800 00:38:31,941 --> 00:38:33,331 Cove apartment to pick him up. 801 00:38:33,435 --> 00:38:36,007 When he arrived, Novak was mixing up something 802 00:38:36,111 --> 00:38:38,161 that he said was chloroform. 803 00:38:38,265 --> 00:38:39,793 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): Paul's kids, 804 00:38:39,897 --> 00:38:43,755 Natalie and Nicholas, had been drugged and were fast asleep. 805 00:38:43,860 --> 00:38:45,874 He gave Benadryl to the children 806 00:38:45,979 --> 00:38:49,593 so they wouldn't wake up when Paul was coming and going 807 00:38:49,697 --> 00:38:51,157 during the murder night. 808 00:38:51,261 --> 00:38:53,346 It seemed like Paul Novak had every detail buttoned up. 809 00:38:53,450 --> 00:38:55,917 He'd even left his cell phone in Nassau County 810 00:38:56,022 --> 00:38:57,793 so that it wouldn't be tracked. 811 00:38:57,897 --> 00:38:58,940 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 812 00:38:59,045 --> 00:39:01,616 Scott Sherwood's attorney insists 813 00:39:01,721 --> 00:39:04,639 that his client was only playing chauffeur that night. 814 00:39:04,743 --> 00:39:07,349 Scott Sherwood's course of conduct for this 815 00:39:07,453 --> 00:39:10,790 was to drive Paul Novak up. 816 00:39:10,893 --> 00:39:13,813 He didn't go in the house, he didn't 817 00:39:13,917 --> 00:39:19,789 do other things to advance the murder beyond driving him. 818 00:39:19,894 --> 00:39:22,639 On the way up to Narrowsburg, they stopped 819 00:39:22,743 --> 00:39:24,412 to buy duct tape and gloves. 820 00:39:25,976 --> 00:39:27,017 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 821 00:39:27,122 --> 00:39:29,033 Sherwood parked behind a barn a mile 822 00:39:29,138 --> 00:39:31,153 or so from Catherine's house. 823 00:39:31,257 --> 00:39:33,099 While Scott waited in the car, Paul 824 00:39:33,203 --> 00:39:37,477 headed off on foot to carry out the rest of the plan. 825 00:39:37,581 --> 00:39:39,458 Sherwood told police that when he left the car 826 00:39:39,562 --> 00:39:41,995 Novak was dressed in surgical scrubs. 827 00:39:42,098 --> 00:39:43,941 He had booties over his shoes and was 828 00:39:44,045 --> 00:39:45,400 wearing a hat and gloves. 829 00:39:45,505 --> 00:39:47,937 He had also duct taped his sleeves and cuffs 830 00:39:48,040 --> 00:39:50,161 to make sure that no evidence would be 831 00:39:50,265 --> 00:39:52,732 left at the scene of the crime. 832 00:39:52,836 --> 00:39:54,643 He lets himself in through the basement door 833 00:39:54,747 --> 00:39:56,450 and he lured Catherine down to the basement 834 00:39:56,554 --> 00:39:59,507 by setting off the fire alarm. 835 00:39:59,611 --> 00:40:01,662 What does he say happened inside the house? 836 00:40:05,694 --> 00:40:07,430 He says to you, wait in the car. 837 00:40:07,534 --> 00:40:16,986 He-- he had said that the chloroform didn't work. 838 00:40:17,090 --> 00:40:20,010 I had to strangle her. 839 00:40:20,114 --> 00:40:22,303 Paul Novak tried to chloroform her. 840 00:40:22,407 --> 00:40:23,484 Didn't work. 841 00:40:23,589 --> 00:40:24,526 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 842 00:40:24,630 --> 00:40:26,439 Catherine struggled with Paul. 843 00:40:26,543 --> 00:40:28,210 It didn't end well. 844 00:40:28,315 --> 00:40:29,183 And he killed her. 845 00:40:29,288 --> 00:40:30,539 He strangled her to death. 846 00:40:30,643 --> 00:40:31,824 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): Catherine's 847 00:40:31,928 --> 00:40:34,119 final moments were horrifying. 848 00:40:34,223 --> 00:40:36,446 As she begged for her life, Paul kept 849 00:40:36,550 --> 00:40:39,157 on tightening the collar of her sweatshirt 850 00:40:39,261 --> 00:40:42,492 until she eventually stopped breathing. 851 00:40:46,176 --> 00:40:47,670 Did he say if Catherine mentioned 852 00:40:47,775 --> 00:40:50,172 anything during the struggle? 853 00:40:52,812 --> 00:40:55,002 Why are you doing this? 854 00:40:55,106 --> 00:40:57,990 And what was his response? 855 00:40:58,095 --> 00:40:59,242 Doing this for the kids. 856 00:40:59,346 --> 00:41:01,013 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 857 00:41:01,118 --> 00:41:03,967 After setting fire to the house, Paul walked back to the car, 858 00:41:04,072 --> 00:41:07,859 peeling off his protective gear along the way. 859 00:41:07,964 --> 00:41:09,492 For someone who had just strangled 860 00:41:09,596 --> 00:41:14,322 the mother of his children, he seemed unusually calm. 861 00:41:14,426 --> 00:41:19,152 What was his demeanor when he came back from the house? 862 00:41:19,257 --> 00:41:21,029 Seemed cold, distant. 863 00:41:21,134 --> 00:41:22,036 What about you? 864 00:41:22,140 --> 00:41:25,407 Were you like, holy [bleep],, why? 865 00:41:25,511 --> 00:41:26,450 I was-- 866 00:41:29,577 --> 00:41:31,349 I was beside myself. 867 00:41:31,454 --> 00:41:32,983 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 868 00:41:33,087 --> 00:41:36,179 On their way back to the city, the last detail of Paul's plan 869 00:41:36,283 --> 00:41:38,473 fell into place. 870 00:41:38,577 --> 00:41:40,036 When you leave, who drives? 871 00:41:43,650 --> 00:41:46,846 I had Paul drive because-- 872 00:41:46,950 --> 00:41:48,097 well, I started-- 873 00:41:48,202 --> 00:41:51,226 I started heading out of the area. 874 00:41:51,330 --> 00:41:56,368 I guess made it to the closest county road, 875 00:41:56,473 --> 00:42:00,086 and it was a little too windy and it was dark, 876 00:42:00,190 --> 00:42:04,569 so I told Paul, you better-- 877 00:42:04,672 --> 00:42:05,716 you better drive. 878 00:42:05,820 --> 00:42:07,105 I can't. 879 00:42:07,209 --> 00:42:09,192 Along the way, they stopped at an abandoned gas station 880 00:42:09,296 --> 00:42:11,589 where Novak could get rid of the scrubs and the gloves. 881 00:42:11,693 --> 00:42:13,221 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 882 00:42:13,325 --> 00:42:16,974 No surprise, Paul thought he'd committed the perfect murder. 883 00:42:17,078 --> 00:42:18,886 Back in their Long Island apartment, 884 00:42:18,990 --> 00:42:23,820 he told his girlfriend, Michelle LaFrance, it's done. 885 00:42:23,924 --> 00:42:27,711 About a week later, he filled in the rest of the gory details, 886 00:42:27,815 --> 00:42:30,979 which obviously ended up being a big mistake, 887 00:42:31,082 --> 00:42:34,800 because she'd eventually repeat everything, word for word, 888 00:42:34,904 --> 00:42:36,329 to the cops. 889 00:42:36,434 --> 00:42:39,075 Even after his arrest and trial, he continued 890 00:42:39,179 --> 00:42:42,654 to insist he was innocent. 891 00:42:42,758 --> 00:42:45,399 And he continues to read me my Miranda rights, 892 00:42:45,503 --> 00:42:46,893 and I said, do I need a lawyer? 893 00:42:46,997 --> 00:42:49,291 He goes, well, you know, if you ask for a lawyer, 894 00:42:49,394 --> 00:42:50,681 it won't really look that good. 895 00:42:50,785 --> 00:42:51,931 We like you. 896 00:42:52,036 --> 00:42:53,461 We know you didn't have anything to do with this, 897 00:42:53,565 --> 00:42:55,233 but the DA wants us to ask you some questions, 898 00:42:55,337 --> 00:42:57,664 just to keep you in the clear and make everyone 899 00:42:57,769 --> 00:42:59,646 feel a lot better. 900 00:42:59,750 --> 00:43:01,349 So I'm like, all right. 901 00:43:01,453 --> 00:43:03,051 I mean, I don't have anything to hide. 902 00:43:03,156 --> 00:43:04,962 You can ask me anything you want. 903 00:43:05,066 --> 00:43:08,680 And so that's when he told me that something 904 00:43:08,786 --> 00:43:10,626 had happened to Catherine. 905 00:43:10,730 --> 00:43:12,050 BENJAMIN GREENWALD: I think Paul Novak 906 00:43:12,155 --> 00:43:14,137 only cared about Paul Novak. 907 00:43:14,240 --> 00:43:20,043 And he got a large sum of money from the insurance, which 908 00:43:20,147 --> 00:43:23,275 was pretty much all gone by the end of this case 909 00:43:23,380 --> 00:43:25,882 where his kids pretty much got nothing, 910 00:43:25,986 --> 00:43:27,722 as far as I understand. 911 00:43:27,827 --> 00:43:29,356 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 912 00:43:29,460 --> 00:43:32,622 On trial for multiple charges, including first degree murder, 913 00:43:32,726 --> 00:43:35,716 Novak claimed that LaFrance and Sherwood 914 00:43:35,819 --> 00:43:39,676 were the actual masterminds behind Catherine's death. 915 00:43:39,781 --> 00:43:41,519 BENJAMIN GREENWALD: He manipulated someone 916 00:43:41,623 --> 00:43:44,854 into helping him commit a heinous crime, 917 00:43:44,958 --> 00:43:50,135 and without even caring one wit as far as I'm concerned 918 00:43:50,240 --> 00:43:53,159 about what happened to Scott. 919 00:43:53,264 --> 00:43:56,842 He really just wanted the case to go his way. 920 00:43:56,947 --> 00:43:59,448 So that's the only I really can say. 921 00:43:59,553 --> 00:44:02,297 He wasn't-- Paul Novak wasn't an open guy. 922 00:44:02,401 --> 00:44:03,548 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 923 00:44:03,654 --> 00:44:05,877 Unfortunately for Paul, it was readily 924 00:44:05,981 --> 00:44:09,594 apparent neither Scott or Michelle had anything 925 00:44:09,699 --> 00:44:12,097 to gain by killing Paul's wife. 926 00:44:12,201 --> 00:44:16,787 He helped corroborate what Michelle LaFrance testified to. 927 00:44:16,892 --> 00:44:18,248 MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG (VOICEOVER): 928 00:44:18,352 --> 00:44:21,688 The jury convicted Paul Novak of murdering his wife. 929 00:44:21,792 --> 00:44:24,953 In exchange for their testimony, Scott Sherwood 930 00:44:25,058 --> 00:44:29,332 received an 18-month sentence, while Michele LaFrance 931 00:44:29,437 --> 00:44:31,279 walked away scott free. 932 00:44:31,383 --> 00:44:35,274 It was the ultimate revenge against the man who had seduced 933 00:44:35,379 --> 00:44:37,325 and then cheated on her. 934 00:44:37,429 --> 00:44:39,548 If their relationship hadn't broken down, 935 00:44:39,652 --> 00:44:42,433 it's possible that she would have kept his secret forever. 936 00:44:42,537 --> 00:44:44,170 Paul Novak thought that he could 937 00:44:44,274 --> 00:44:47,646 commit the perfect murder, but he was wrong in the end. 938 00:44:47,749 --> 00:44:49,973 All he did was deprive his children 939 00:44:50,077 --> 00:44:51,779 of their loving mother. 940 00:44:51,884 --> 00:44:53,240 And their father? 941 00:44:53,345 --> 00:44:57,028 Well, he's currently sentenced to spend the rest of his life 942 00:44:57,132 --> 00:45:01,232 in prison, which is right where he belongs. 943 00:45:01,336 --> 00:45:04,429 I'm Michelle Trachtenberg, and I'll see you next time 944 00:45:04,532 --> 00:45:07,765 on "Meet, Marry, Murder." 945 00:45:07,869 --> 00:45:11,205 [music playing]