1 00:00:07,340 --> 00:00:07,741 - I'm Kate Snow, 2 00:00:08,641 --> 00:00:11,244 and this is "Dateline: Secrets Uncovered." 3 00:00:16,983 --> 00:00:18,885 - Nothing had been missing from the house. 4 00:00:18,985 --> 00:00:22,389 This was clearly a premeditated murder. 5 00:00:22,489 --> 00:00:25,025 - Why would anybody want to shoot Jan? 6 00:00:25,125 --> 00:00:26,526 - Makes no sense to me. 7 00:00:26,626 --> 00:00:28,762 - He was there in the room with Jan when this happened. 8 00:00:32,065 --> 00:00:34,634 - The word divorce being thrown around. 9 00:00:39,072 --> 00:00:41,074 - From the beginning, they had one suspect. 10 00:00:41,174 --> 00:00:42,342 It was Chris. 11 00:00:42,442 --> 00:00:44,377 There's another person here that could have done this, 12 00:00:44,477 --> 00:00:45,412 and it's Jeremy. 13 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:55,689 - That would be a motive for murder. 14 00:00:55,789 --> 00:00:56,890 - He was a concern. 15 00:00:56,990 --> 00:00:58,958 - You see it on TV happening to other people. 16 00:00:59,059 --> 00:01:00,627 Didn't ever think that this would be something 17 00:01:00,727 --> 00:01:02,295 that we would go through. 18 00:01:02,395 --> 00:01:03,763 - Two shots in the dark. 19 00:01:03,863 --> 00:01:07,233 Then 1,001 questions in the light of day. 20 00:01:07,334 --> 00:01:09,969 - I guess you just don't think bad things will happen 21 00:01:10,070 --> 00:01:12,605 in a small town to good people. 22 00:01:12,706 --> 00:01:14,107 And it did. 23 00:01:14,207 --> 00:01:23,383 * 24 00:01:23,483 --> 00:01:26,486 - Hello and welcome to "Dateline: Secrets Uncovered." 25 00:01:26,586 --> 00:01:29,956 Chris and Jan Kruse seemed like the salt of the Earth. 26 00:01:30,090 --> 00:01:31,991 Married for more than 20 years, 27 00:01:32,092 --> 00:01:34,194 they loved their kids, their neighbors, 28 00:01:34,294 --> 00:01:36,996 and the simple pleasures of a small town. 29 00:01:37,097 --> 00:01:39,366 But that quiet life was shattered 30 00:01:39,466 --> 00:01:42,002 when gunfire ripped through their home. 31 00:01:42,102 --> 00:01:44,871 Now Jan was dead, leaving investigators 32 00:01:44,971 --> 00:01:47,707 to untangle the secrets of a family 33 00:01:47,807 --> 00:01:49,943 more complicated than it seemed. 34 00:01:50,110 --> 00:01:53,246 Here's Keith Morrison with Far From Spider Lake. 35 00:01:57,283 --> 00:01:58,651 - It was-- 36 00:01:58,752 --> 00:02:01,354 this was where happiness lived. 37 00:02:01,454 --> 00:02:05,592 Happiness and memories and desire. 38 00:02:05,692 --> 00:02:08,061 The wishes of dreams just out of reach. 39 00:02:08,128 --> 00:02:10,163 Its name is Spider Lake, 40 00:02:10,263 --> 00:02:12,232 one of those thousands of lakes 41 00:02:12,332 --> 00:02:16,403 that filled up the rocky gouges the glaciers left behind. 42 00:02:16,503 --> 00:02:20,373 Maybe that's why they sparkle the way they do, 43 00:02:20,473 --> 00:02:23,576 why this one in Minnesota spread out every which way. 44 00:02:23,677 --> 00:02:26,179 And here, near the tip of its northern arm 45 00:02:26,279 --> 00:02:29,249 is the Spider Lake Resort. 46 00:02:29,349 --> 00:02:32,552 Family cabins by the day or week, 47 00:02:32,652 --> 00:02:34,988 calls itself one of northern Minnesota's 48 00:02:35,088 --> 00:02:37,490 best kept secrets. 49 00:02:37,590 --> 00:02:39,893 Secrets, 50 00:02:39,993 --> 00:02:41,695 a word that will certainly apply 51 00:02:41,795 --> 00:02:45,231 to what you're about to hear one way or the other. 52 00:02:45,331 --> 00:02:48,301 - I went with them a couple times up there. 53 00:02:48,401 --> 00:02:52,238 Them being Chris and Jan Kruse. 54 00:02:52,339 --> 00:02:54,908 This is Jan's sister, Kay. 55 00:02:55,008 --> 00:02:57,143 - They would like to go fishing, 56 00:02:57,243 --> 00:02:59,312 just stay at a cabin, just relax. 57 00:02:59,412 --> 00:03:01,081 It was just quality time together. 58 00:03:01,181 --> 00:03:04,217 And they did. They both enjoyed being there. 59 00:03:04,317 --> 00:03:07,754 In fact, they had a fantasy, did Chris and Jan, 60 00:03:07,854 --> 00:03:10,323 a dream to live here all the time, 61 00:03:10,423 --> 00:03:13,827 to buy this resort and make it uniquely their own. 62 00:03:13,927 --> 00:03:16,296 - That was brought up a lot. Yeah. 63 00:03:16,396 --> 00:03:18,131 - Jan's dad, Terry, could see 64 00:03:18,231 --> 00:03:20,567 how they loved being here. 65 00:03:20,667 --> 00:03:21,935 - About every evening, 66 00:03:22,068 --> 00:03:23,670 Jan and Chris would take the boat, 67 00:03:23,770 --> 00:03:26,506 and Jan liked to take pictures of the loon 68 00:03:26,606 --> 00:03:28,108 and the wildlife along the lake 69 00:03:28,208 --> 00:03:30,243 and the sunsets off of the lake. 70 00:03:30,343 --> 00:03:32,779 - That was the kind of life they would have liked. 71 00:03:32,879 --> 00:03:36,616 - And if they owned it, said Jan's mom, Mary Jean, 72 00:03:36,716 --> 00:03:39,219 frugal Jan could use her accounting skills 73 00:03:39,319 --> 00:03:41,087 to keep the place in business. 74 00:03:41,154 --> 00:03:42,255 And Chris? 75 00:03:42,355 --> 00:03:44,791 - Chris is very much an outdoors person. 76 00:03:44,891 --> 00:03:46,326 Jan is a people person 77 00:03:46,426 --> 00:03:47,761 with the people coming in and out 78 00:03:47,861 --> 00:03:48,962 all through the week 79 00:03:49,095 --> 00:03:51,664 and keeping them all content, happy, busy, 80 00:03:51,765 --> 00:03:53,633 all of those things. 81 00:03:53,733 --> 00:03:55,669 Chris's brother Josh. 82 00:03:55,769 --> 00:03:57,370 - It would have worked out good for Chris and Jan, 83 00:03:57,470 --> 00:04:00,040 because Chris is a really good handyman construction guy. 84 00:04:00,140 --> 00:04:01,241 He could take care of the resort, 85 00:04:01,341 --> 00:04:02,876 and Jan's pretty business smart. 86 00:04:03,043 --> 00:04:05,578 It would've fit 'em. 87 00:04:05,679 --> 00:04:08,381 - Would have, until... 88 00:04:08,481 --> 00:04:11,518 until the events of the summer of 2015. 89 00:04:15,355 --> 00:04:17,857 By the time all this happened, Chris and Jan Kruse 90 00:04:17,957 --> 00:04:20,126 had been married for two decades 91 00:04:20,226 --> 00:04:22,929 and lived here in a tiny place 92 00:04:23,063 --> 00:04:26,099 called Brewster, population 473, 93 00:04:26,199 --> 00:04:29,169 in the rural southwest corner of Minnesota. 94 00:04:29,269 --> 00:04:31,371 A good, apparently happy marriage, 95 00:04:31,471 --> 00:04:33,106 a happy life. 96 00:04:33,206 --> 00:04:36,843 - What they had was what I hope to have someday. 97 00:04:36,943 --> 00:04:38,411 I loved our family. 98 00:04:38,511 --> 00:04:41,214 - Isaac, their eldest, was 20 then. 99 00:04:41,314 --> 00:04:44,117 His sister Bailey was 15 that summer. 100 00:04:44,217 --> 00:04:46,953 That was the year, spring of 2015, 101 00:04:47,087 --> 00:04:48,722 when Isaac's parents discovered 102 00:04:48,822 --> 00:04:52,459 that Spider Lake Resort was for sale. 103 00:04:52,559 --> 00:04:55,328 And the buzz of excitement filled the house. 104 00:04:55,428 --> 00:04:58,498 Did you ever fantasize about the family owning that place? 105 00:04:58,598 --> 00:04:59,733 - Absolutely. 106 00:04:59,833 --> 00:05:01,701 When I found out that they were talking about buying it, 107 00:05:01,801 --> 00:05:04,537 I was starting to look for my line of the work 108 00:05:04,637 --> 00:05:05,605 up in that area, 109 00:05:05,705 --> 00:05:09,275 and I thought it'd be really fun to help own 110 00:05:09,376 --> 00:05:11,778 and help work out on the resort. 111 00:05:11,878 --> 00:05:13,279 - Well, that's the sort of place 112 00:05:13,380 --> 00:05:15,682 that becomes multi-generational, too. 113 00:05:15,782 --> 00:05:18,151 I mean, you can look forward to association with it 114 00:05:18,251 --> 00:05:20,954 for your whole life. - Yep. 115 00:05:21,054 --> 00:05:22,322 - So come August, 116 00:05:22,422 --> 00:05:24,624 Chris and Jan drove the six hours 117 00:05:24,724 --> 00:05:26,226 from Brewster to Spider Lake 118 00:05:26,326 --> 00:05:29,796 to engage in some serious negotiating. 119 00:05:29,896 --> 00:05:33,133 And there were obstacles. Of course there were, 120 00:05:33,233 --> 00:05:35,368 as Jan told her sister Kay. 121 00:05:35,468 --> 00:05:37,103 - It was just the timing with Bailey 122 00:05:37,203 --> 00:05:38,938 having a couple of years left in school. 123 00:05:39,072 --> 00:05:40,974 So it wasn't that she-- 124 00:05:41,074 --> 00:05:42,409 yes, she did want to buy it. 125 00:05:42,509 --> 00:05:45,745 There was just a lot that went into that whole decision. 126 00:05:45,845 --> 00:05:48,314 - Mostly, of course, the money. 127 00:05:48,415 --> 00:05:50,917 Jan, the bookkeeper, ran the numbers. 128 00:05:51,084 --> 00:05:53,920 They offered as much as their bank would allow. 129 00:05:54,087 --> 00:05:56,656 But it wasn't enough. 130 00:05:56,756 --> 00:05:58,925 Was it Jan who faced it first, 131 00:05:59,092 --> 00:06:00,493 that they'd have to move on? 132 00:06:00,593 --> 00:06:03,196 Chris would never own the resort 133 00:06:03,296 --> 00:06:04,664 he'd set his heart on. 134 00:06:04,764 --> 00:06:06,433 What they said to each other 135 00:06:06,533 --> 00:06:09,336 on the long drive home is not recorded, 136 00:06:09,436 --> 00:06:12,238 nor is what happened two nights later, 137 00:06:12,339 --> 00:06:13,406 middle of the night, 138 00:06:13,506 --> 00:06:17,644 in Jan and Chris Kruse's bedroom. 139 00:06:17,744 --> 00:06:19,713 - 911 emergency. 140 00:06:19,813 --> 00:06:22,749 - My mom told me Jan had been shot 141 00:06:22,849 --> 00:06:25,585 and I said, okay, I'll-- 142 00:06:25,685 --> 00:06:28,121 I'll be there. Am I going to the hospital? 143 00:06:28,221 --> 00:06:29,456 And mom was quiet. 144 00:06:29,556 --> 00:06:31,825 I said, she's going to be okay, right? 145 00:06:31,925 --> 00:06:34,661 She's going to be okay? 146 00:06:34,761 --> 00:06:37,864 Mom said, no. 147 00:06:37,964 --> 00:06:39,065 She was dead. 148 00:06:46,106 --> 00:06:49,342 And I think I just kind of collapsed on the floor 149 00:06:49,442 --> 00:06:51,378 and screamed. 150 00:06:51,478 --> 00:06:53,680 - Why would anybody want to shoot Jan? 151 00:06:56,983 --> 00:06:58,518 It mustn't make any sense to you. 152 00:06:58,618 --> 00:07:00,587 - It doesn't. 153 00:07:00,687 --> 00:07:02,655 It makes no sense to me. 154 00:07:05,025 --> 00:07:08,261 Now I know what you might be thinking, 155 00:07:08,361 --> 00:07:11,498 but maybe it wasn't that at all. 156 00:07:14,901 --> 00:07:17,137 - There was a hole through the wall of the bedroom. 157 00:07:17,237 --> 00:07:21,074 - And was this a sign of a possible intruder? 158 00:07:21,174 --> 00:07:23,476 - I've noticed a broken window in a bedroom downstairs. 159 00:07:23,576 --> 00:07:26,546 - When "Dateline: Secrets Uncovered" continues. 160 00:07:31,117 --> 00:07:35,422 * 161 00:07:35,522 --> 00:07:36,956 - What happened to Jan Kruse 162 00:07:37,057 --> 00:07:40,226 in the early morning hours of August 19th, 2015, 163 00:07:40,326 --> 00:07:43,396 was dreadfully obvious at first look, 164 00:07:43,496 --> 00:07:46,332 as Chris Kruse told the 911 operator. 165 00:07:51,171 --> 00:07:54,240 - Jan had taken the fatal shotgun blast to the chest 166 00:07:54,341 --> 00:07:57,911 while in bed beside her own husband, Chris. 167 00:08:07,554 --> 00:08:09,222 - As Chris called 911, 168 00:08:09,322 --> 00:08:11,057 he checked on 15 year old Bailey 169 00:08:11,157 --> 00:08:12,492 in a downstairs bedroom. 170 00:08:12,592 --> 00:08:16,429 She had heard the gun, of course, but she was unhurt. 171 00:08:16,529 --> 00:08:19,499 Then the rush of first responders and police 172 00:08:19,599 --> 00:08:21,601 and terrible emotions. 173 00:08:21,701 --> 00:08:24,571 Chris and Bailey huddled in the garage, 174 00:08:24,671 --> 00:08:26,373 and deputies secured the scene 175 00:08:26,473 --> 00:08:28,775 and then as dawn was approaching, 176 00:08:28,875 --> 00:08:32,212 Chris himself spread the news to the family. 177 00:08:32,312 --> 00:08:36,049 He called his son Isaac, off in South Dakota. 178 00:08:36,082 --> 00:08:38,051 - He said that Mom had been shot, 179 00:08:38,151 --> 00:08:40,220 and he didn't really know how to tell me that. 180 00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:43,623 And I just said, okay, I'm packing my stuff. 181 00:08:43,723 --> 00:08:44,824 I'm on my way. 182 00:08:44,924 --> 00:08:48,728 - Did you know that she was-- that she was dead? 183 00:08:48,828 --> 00:08:51,431 - Assumed, I guess, and assumed it wasn't good 184 00:08:51,531 --> 00:08:53,099 from the sound of his voice. 185 00:08:53,199 --> 00:08:55,535 He called his in-laws, 186 00:08:55,635 --> 00:08:57,904 Terry and Mary Jean Pigman. 187 00:08:58,071 --> 00:09:00,073 - Chris called us early morning 188 00:09:00,173 --> 00:09:03,743 and was extremely broken up. 189 00:09:03,843 --> 00:09:06,112 I couldn't understand what he was saying. 190 00:09:06,212 --> 00:09:08,615 I could tell he was in tears, 191 00:09:08,715 --> 00:09:10,784 which wasn't a usual thing for Chris. 192 00:09:10,884 --> 00:09:12,686 Pretty-- pretty stoic. 193 00:09:12,786 --> 00:09:16,656 And, he's telling me she didn't make it. 194 00:09:16,756 --> 00:09:20,160 We lost her. I didn't protect her. 195 00:09:20,260 --> 00:09:22,862 - But of all the people in the world, 196 00:09:23,029 --> 00:09:24,931 and especially this tiny world, 197 00:09:25,031 --> 00:09:27,734 Brewster, Minnesota, population 473, 198 00:09:27,834 --> 00:09:30,603 why would Jan need protecting? 199 00:09:30,704 --> 00:09:33,073 Why would someone shoot her, 200 00:09:33,173 --> 00:09:36,042 the least likely murder victim? 201 00:09:36,109 --> 00:09:40,447 - She was just a very, very true and very genuine person. 202 00:09:40,547 --> 00:09:43,149 She just enjoyed spending time with her family 203 00:09:43,249 --> 00:09:44,718 and her kids and her husband. 204 00:09:44,818 --> 00:09:47,554 And when she interacted with people, 205 00:09:47,654 --> 00:09:50,056 it was real. Like, she cared. 206 00:09:50,090 --> 00:09:52,258 And you wanted to spend timewith her. 207 00:09:52,359 --> 00:09:55,095 Isaac, a young man of few words, 208 00:09:55,195 --> 00:09:57,163 said a lot with a little. 209 00:09:57,263 --> 00:09:59,065 - She was pretty amazing. 210 00:09:59,132 --> 00:10:01,267 I was probably a pain in the ass growing up, 211 00:10:01,368 --> 00:10:04,938 but she was always really nice about it and understanding. 212 00:10:05,038 --> 00:10:08,341 - Jan's always been outgoing, friendly. 213 00:10:08,441 --> 00:10:11,344 She was the one that brought soup 214 00:10:11,444 --> 00:10:13,013 to somebody that was sick. 215 00:10:13,113 --> 00:10:17,050 - Jan had run a daycare in their home years earlier, 216 00:10:17,150 --> 00:10:18,485 but time of the murder 217 00:10:18,585 --> 00:10:21,621 had a front office job in a local plant. 218 00:10:21,721 --> 00:10:23,289 And here's the thing, 219 00:10:23,390 --> 00:10:25,091 said Jan's younger sister, Vonnie, 220 00:10:25,191 --> 00:10:27,460 she was just a regular person, 221 00:10:27,560 --> 00:10:29,262 uncontroversial. 222 00:10:29,362 --> 00:10:31,731 Nobody didn't like her. 223 00:10:31,831 --> 00:10:33,433 - She's great. 224 00:10:33,533 --> 00:10:35,502 Just a good person. 225 00:10:35,602 --> 00:10:37,804 Loved to quilt with her neighbors. 226 00:10:37,904 --> 00:10:40,006 Loved her family. 227 00:10:40,106 --> 00:10:42,909 That was definitely very important to her. 228 00:10:43,009 --> 00:10:45,111 - Now she'd never see her children get married 229 00:10:45,211 --> 00:10:47,547 or welcome grandchildren into the world 230 00:10:47,647 --> 00:10:50,216 or be with Chris at Spider Lake. 231 00:10:50,316 --> 00:10:53,853 And so to say her family was in a state of shock 232 00:10:53,953 --> 00:10:56,022 would be to profoundly understate 233 00:10:56,122 --> 00:10:58,992 the feelings of that awful morning, 234 00:10:59,092 --> 00:11:03,063 unaware of the activities of this man. 235 00:11:03,096 --> 00:11:06,599 - I believe I received a call about 3 a.m.. 236 00:11:06,700 --> 00:11:09,069 Derek Woodford is a senior special agent 237 00:11:09,102 --> 00:11:11,738 with the State Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, 238 00:11:11,838 --> 00:11:15,075 the BCA in southern Minnesota. 239 00:11:15,108 --> 00:11:18,578 - I know most of the local investigators. 240 00:11:18,678 --> 00:11:21,414 When they have a violent crime or homicide 241 00:11:21,514 --> 00:11:24,150 or death investigation and need assistance, 242 00:11:24,250 --> 00:11:25,819 they call me. 243 00:11:25,919 --> 00:11:28,521 - So he got dressed and drove to Brewster, 244 00:11:28,621 --> 00:11:31,858 and before dawn, Agent Woodford was staring intently 245 00:11:31,958 --> 00:11:35,295 at the carnage in Chris and Jan's bedroom. 246 00:11:35,395 --> 00:11:36,896 - What I found was the victim 247 00:11:36,996 --> 00:11:39,933 on a backboard, she was deceased. 248 00:11:40,100 --> 00:11:42,402 - What was the nature of her-- of her injury? 249 00:11:42,502 --> 00:11:45,505 - It was a shotgun slug 250 00:11:45,605 --> 00:11:48,942 that had entered kind of the lower right shoulder 251 00:11:49,109 --> 00:11:50,710 and exited out her back. 252 00:11:50,810 --> 00:11:51,711 - Was it your sense 253 00:11:51,811 --> 00:11:53,013 that she would have died very quickly? 254 00:11:53,113 --> 00:11:55,849 - We want to know, obviously, 255 00:11:55,949 --> 00:11:59,219 was it right away, or could it have been minutes? 256 00:11:59,319 --> 00:12:00,920 And I spoke to the medical examiner 257 00:12:01,054 --> 00:12:03,289 and he had thought that she could have stayed alive 258 00:12:03,390 --> 00:12:06,092 for 3 to 5 minutes after the injury. 259 00:12:06,192 --> 00:12:08,194 - It was as he approached that bedroom 260 00:12:08,294 --> 00:12:12,332 Woodford found two spent shotgun shells. 261 00:12:12,432 --> 00:12:13,800 - Right outside the door. 262 00:12:13,900 --> 00:12:16,136 Obviously, those I don't pick up at that point. 263 00:12:16,236 --> 00:12:19,072 They'll stay for Crime Scene Team to process, 264 00:12:19,139 --> 00:12:22,442 but I noticed they looked to be 12 gauge shot shells 265 00:12:22,542 --> 00:12:24,077 that were spent. 266 00:12:24,144 --> 00:12:25,612 - Two of them? - Two of them. 267 00:12:25,712 --> 00:12:27,914 - So two shots. 268 00:12:28,081 --> 00:12:29,582 Two loud shots. 269 00:12:29,683 --> 00:12:31,084 One obviously hit Jan, 270 00:12:31,117 --> 00:12:32,819 but the other one? 271 00:12:32,919 --> 00:12:35,255 - There was all hole through the wall of the bedroom. 272 00:12:35,355 --> 00:12:39,793 And so it appeared one round had been fired and missed. 273 00:12:39,893 --> 00:12:42,095 It went through the headboard along the wall 274 00:12:42,162 --> 00:12:43,997 where their heads would have been laying, 275 00:12:44,097 --> 00:12:48,268 and then it went out the wall of the house outside. 276 00:12:48,368 --> 00:12:51,104 - Well, that was strange, given where the bullet holes were. 277 00:12:51,171 --> 00:12:52,372 It looked like the person 278 00:12:52,472 --> 00:12:53,973 sleeping on the side of the bed 279 00:12:54,107 --> 00:12:57,744 closer to the door would probably have been hit. 280 00:12:57,844 --> 00:12:59,112 Would it be possible for him 281 00:12:59,145 --> 00:13:01,147 to have been lying in the bed beside Jan, 282 00:13:01,247 --> 00:13:04,417 and not be hit by whatever this bullet was 283 00:13:04,517 --> 00:13:06,386 that went flying past? 284 00:13:06,486 --> 00:13:11,057 - I thought that bullet could have hit him 285 00:13:11,091 --> 00:13:13,293 prior to going through the headboard. 286 00:13:13,393 --> 00:13:16,096 - Preliminary, of course, but he thought about it 287 00:13:16,196 --> 00:13:17,731 as he looked around the house. 288 00:13:17,831 --> 00:13:19,466 Nothing obviously missing. 289 00:13:19,566 --> 00:13:21,501 This did not appear to be a robbery, 290 00:13:21,601 --> 00:13:24,137 but had somebody broken in? 291 00:13:24,237 --> 00:13:26,973 - I've noticed a broken window in a bedroom downstairs. 292 00:13:27,073 --> 00:13:28,742 - Could somebody have gotten through the window that way? 293 00:13:28,842 --> 00:13:30,143 - Someone could have got through the window. 294 00:13:30,243 --> 00:13:31,745 It was broken and opened. 295 00:13:31,845 --> 00:13:34,948 But it had rained pretty heavy off and on. 296 00:13:35,081 --> 00:13:36,649 And so the ground was wet. 297 00:13:36,750 --> 00:13:40,387 There was a little bit of dirt or a leaf that had blown in, 298 00:13:40,487 --> 00:13:44,324 but there were no muddy footprints below that window. 299 00:13:44,424 --> 00:13:47,961 - So probably no entry through the window. 300 00:13:48,094 --> 00:13:51,831 But somebody was in here, not to rob, not to rape, 301 00:13:51,931 --> 00:13:55,835 but to kill Jan Kruse in cold blood. 302 00:13:55,935 --> 00:13:59,305 Why would anyone want to do that? 303 00:13:59,406 --> 00:14:02,275 Derek Woodford got in his car, 304 00:14:02,375 --> 00:14:04,411 drove to the local sheriff's office. 305 00:14:04,511 --> 00:14:08,848 Someone he needed to talk to right away. 306 00:14:08,948 --> 00:14:13,219 No idea then how often they'd be talking 307 00:14:13,319 --> 00:14:17,157 or how confounding their conversations might be. 308 00:14:29,769 --> 00:14:30,870 - An enraged husband 309 00:14:30,970 --> 00:14:33,907 with his family apparently under attack. 310 00:14:34,074 --> 00:14:35,909 - Their garage had burned down, 311 00:14:36,076 --> 00:14:38,178 and he had said that he was concerned. 312 00:14:38,278 --> 00:14:40,780 Could have been part of now Jan being shot. 313 00:14:49,389 --> 00:14:52,525 * 314 00:14:53,460 --> 00:14:55,161 - This is Senior Special Agent Derek Woodford 315 00:14:55,261 --> 00:14:56,896 with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. 316 00:14:56,996 --> 00:14:59,265 The man sitting with Agent Derek Woodford 317 00:14:59,366 --> 00:15:01,768 in the county sheriff's office was Chris Kruse. 318 00:15:01,868 --> 00:15:06,106 And this is how they began these perplexing interviews. 319 00:15:06,206 --> 00:15:08,274 The investigators repeated efforts to match 320 00:15:08,375 --> 00:15:09,476 what they had seen 321 00:15:09,576 --> 00:15:11,778 to what they were hearing in here. 322 00:15:11,878 --> 00:15:15,415 Our task too, in a way, as we watch and listen 323 00:15:15,515 --> 00:15:19,185 to Chris's many interviews and those of the others 324 00:15:19,285 --> 00:15:21,454 to try to piece together what happened 325 00:15:21,554 --> 00:15:26,159 to Chris's wife, Jan, who made it happen, and why. 326 00:15:34,934 --> 00:15:38,071 - What happened, said Chris, was confusing. 327 00:15:38,138 --> 00:15:40,306 He was in bed, asleep, 328 00:15:40,407 --> 00:15:43,877 curled up in the way he always slept with Jan. 329 00:15:47,447 --> 00:15:49,649 - He described it as kind of like spooning, 330 00:15:49,749 --> 00:15:51,584 like where she's laying on her side 331 00:15:51,685 --> 00:15:54,988 and he's laying on his side kind of next to her. 332 00:15:55,088 --> 00:15:56,823 I guess his-- the front of his body 333 00:15:56,923 --> 00:15:59,626 would be alongside the back of her body. 334 00:16:24,584 --> 00:16:26,720 - "The" bang? 335 00:16:26,820 --> 00:16:30,924 But as Woodford knew, there were two loud bangs, 336 00:16:31,057 --> 00:16:33,059 two shotgun blasts. 337 00:16:42,502 --> 00:16:45,138 - And again, on fire? What fire? 338 00:16:45,238 --> 00:16:47,207 That was two months earlier, said Chris, 339 00:16:47,307 --> 00:16:48,875 in June, 340 00:16:48,975 --> 00:16:51,311 just before he and Jan and the family 341 00:16:51,411 --> 00:16:53,513 were due to depart for their annual trip 342 00:16:53,613 --> 00:16:54,948 to Spider Lake. 343 00:16:55,081 --> 00:16:56,349 - Their garage had burned down, 344 00:16:56,449 --> 00:17:00,020 and he had said that he was concerned. 345 00:17:00,053 --> 00:17:01,755 Was it the same or could have been part 346 00:17:01,855 --> 00:17:04,024 of now Jan being shot? 347 00:17:04,057 --> 00:17:05,492 - At the time, said Chris, 348 00:17:05,592 --> 00:17:07,660 the insurance inspector said it looked like 349 00:17:07,761 --> 00:17:10,563 the fire may have been deliberately set, 350 00:17:10,663 --> 00:17:13,500 but by whom? Nobody could say. 351 00:17:19,039 --> 00:17:20,340 - Interesting. 352 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:23,443 But it was something else about the fire story 353 00:17:23,543 --> 00:17:25,945 that occurred right away to Agent Woodford. 354 00:17:26,046 --> 00:17:30,050 - It was concerning to me, because a fire in a garage 355 00:17:30,116 --> 00:17:31,317 smells a lot different 356 00:17:31,418 --> 00:17:34,754 than a spent shotgun shell in a house. 357 00:17:34,854 --> 00:17:36,222 - He would know that, would he? 358 00:17:36,322 --> 00:17:40,527 - He does a lot of trap shooting and hunting, 359 00:17:40,627 --> 00:17:44,898 and so he would know the difference between a shotgun 360 00:17:45,065 --> 00:17:48,835 and smoke from a house or a garage fire. 361 00:17:48,935 --> 00:17:50,270 - Woodford made note of that 362 00:17:50,370 --> 00:17:52,639 and went on with this question. 363 00:17:52,739 --> 00:17:54,407 What happened after Chris heard 364 00:17:54,507 --> 00:17:57,544 what he said was a single loud bang 365 00:17:57,644 --> 00:18:00,413 and saw that his wife had been shot? 366 00:18:54,367 --> 00:18:57,337 - Everyone reacts to disaster, grief, stress 367 00:18:57,437 --> 00:18:59,205 in different ways, 368 00:18:59,305 --> 00:19:02,008 but though Chris was clearly distraught, 369 00:19:02,042 --> 00:19:04,077 Woodford was listening very carefully 370 00:19:04,177 --> 00:19:06,179 to the words he was usingm 371 00:19:06,279 --> 00:19:08,014 descriptions of the incident 372 00:19:08,048 --> 00:19:11,551 that Woodford already knew were not accurate. 373 00:19:33,606 --> 00:19:35,375 - Chris seemed to be saying that Jen was shot 374 00:19:35,475 --> 00:19:40,213 as she was lying down in bed, and then she sat up. 375 00:20:10,877 --> 00:20:13,213 - But if he did lay her down, thought Woodford, 376 00:20:13,313 --> 00:20:16,750 surely his hands would have been covered in blood, 377 00:20:16,850 --> 00:20:18,585 and they weren't. 378 00:20:39,239 --> 00:20:41,708 - Did he have any idea who that might have been? 379 00:20:41,808 --> 00:20:43,276 - No, not at that time, 380 00:20:43,376 --> 00:20:44,811 because he didn't see anybody, 381 00:20:44,911 --> 00:20:48,715 didn't hear anything but that one shot, 382 00:20:48,815 --> 00:20:53,119 and then just noticed the back door being wide open. 383 00:20:53,219 --> 00:20:56,790 - But the idea that a stranger had walked in, 384 00:20:56,890 --> 00:20:58,925 killed Jan, and just walked out again 385 00:20:59,025 --> 00:21:00,627 didn't make sense. 386 00:21:02,929 --> 00:21:04,898 In fact, that morning after, 387 00:21:05,065 --> 00:21:07,801 nothing about the murder of a loved local 388 00:21:07,901 --> 00:21:10,236 in a tiny hamlet in the middle of America 389 00:21:10,337 --> 00:21:12,339 made any sense at all. 390 00:21:15,809 --> 00:21:19,179 - Questions for the other person in the house that night. 391 00:21:44,337 --> 00:21:47,640 * 392 00:21:48,641 --> 00:21:51,244 - Welcome back to "Dateline: Secrets Uncovered." 393 00:21:51,344 --> 00:21:52,545 I'm Kate Snow. 394 00:21:52,645 --> 00:21:54,514 Chris Kruse told investigators 395 00:21:54,614 --> 00:21:56,783 he awoke to a gunshot blast, 396 00:21:56,883 --> 00:22:00,320 then found his wife next to him covered in blood. 397 00:22:00,420 --> 00:22:01,921 But there was a problem. 398 00:22:02,055 --> 00:22:05,191 His story didn't match evidence from the scene. 399 00:22:05,291 --> 00:22:08,228 Was he confused or covering a secret? 400 00:22:08,328 --> 00:22:11,398 It was time for police to talk to Bailey Kruse, 401 00:22:11,498 --> 00:22:14,200 a teenager with secrets of her own. 402 00:22:14,300 --> 00:22:17,671 Back to Keith Morrison with Far From Spider Lake. 403 00:22:22,642 --> 00:22:24,611 - We cannot begin to imagine, 404 00:22:24,711 --> 00:22:26,579 nor possibly describe, 405 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:29,082 the shock and grief that descended that first morning 406 00:22:29,149 --> 00:22:32,085 on Jan's parents, Mary Jean and Terry Pigman, 407 00:22:32,152 --> 00:22:33,553 to pick up the phone 408 00:22:33,653 --> 00:22:35,088 and hear from their son in law 409 00:22:35,155 --> 00:22:37,290 that their daughter was dead 410 00:22:37,390 --> 00:22:40,894 and he, Chris, had been taken to the sheriff's office 411 00:22:40,994 --> 00:22:42,529 for questioning. 412 00:22:42,629 --> 00:22:45,331 - We threw on some clothes and went out there. 413 00:22:45,432 --> 00:22:46,566 - When we first walked in, 414 00:22:46,666 --> 00:22:48,234 the first thing they were concerned about 415 00:22:48,335 --> 00:22:50,770 was how we found out that he was there. 416 00:22:50,870 --> 00:22:52,205 The next thing out of their mouth was, 417 00:22:52,305 --> 00:22:55,208 "Well, you know, 85% of the time the spouse done it." 418 00:22:55,308 --> 00:22:58,678 And at that point I felt, okay, 419 00:22:58,778 --> 00:23:00,847 I know where you guys are going with this. 420 00:23:00,947 --> 00:23:04,351 And I'm-- I felt like telling them, 421 00:23:04,451 --> 00:23:05,585 you're full of it. 422 00:23:05,685 --> 00:23:08,855 - I mean, we've never felt he was the one that did it. 423 00:23:08,955 --> 00:23:11,424 - No, they didn't. 424 00:23:11,524 --> 00:23:14,494 And so right after that first interview with Agent Woodford, 425 00:23:14,594 --> 00:23:16,896 Jan's parents invited Chris and Bailey 426 00:23:17,063 --> 00:23:19,499 to move in with them. 427 00:23:19,599 --> 00:23:22,702 That's where Chris's brother Keith found them 428 00:23:22,802 --> 00:23:24,304 later that first day. 429 00:23:24,404 --> 00:23:26,406 - You know, we've never really been an emotional family, 430 00:23:26,506 --> 00:23:28,808 and we don't wear our emotions on our sleeves, I guess. 431 00:23:28,908 --> 00:23:31,378 But I remember looking at Chris, 432 00:23:31,478 --> 00:23:34,948 and I had never seen Chris as devastated as he was. 433 00:23:35,081 --> 00:23:38,351 I mean, he was in complete and utter shock. 434 00:23:38,451 --> 00:23:40,520 - How did he look that was different? 435 00:23:40,620 --> 00:23:42,155 - Well, his eyes were welled up. 436 00:23:42,255 --> 00:23:46,126 He was kind of biting on his bottom lip a little bit 437 00:23:46,226 --> 00:23:48,495 and just kind of shaking his head back and forth. 438 00:23:48,595 --> 00:23:52,098 I'd never seen him so devastated ever. 439 00:23:52,132 --> 00:23:56,202 - Bailey was there too, of course, also a mess. 440 00:23:56,302 --> 00:23:58,104 Earlier at the sheriff's office, 441 00:23:58,171 --> 00:23:59,873 she'd had her turn to tell the investigators 442 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:03,410 what she saw and heard early that morning. 443 00:24:03,510 --> 00:24:07,180 It wasn't quite the same story as the one her father told. 444 00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:10,150 While both Chris and Bailey have hearing deficits, 445 00:24:10,250 --> 00:24:13,186 Bailey said she heard loud and clear 446 00:24:13,286 --> 00:24:16,089 not one, but two shots. 447 00:24:58,598 --> 00:25:02,836 - So Bailey, who had a digital clock by her bed, 448 00:25:02,936 --> 00:25:06,473 had just put the murder at, "like, 2:30." 449 00:25:06,573 --> 00:25:10,110 Chris called 911 at 2:39. 450 00:25:10,210 --> 00:25:11,644 Might be an issue. 451 00:25:11,745 --> 00:25:13,313 Why the delay? 452 00:25:36,202 --> 00:25:37,704 - Of course, those deputies were right 453 00:25:37,804 --> 00:25:39,339 when they told Bailey's grandparents 454 00:25:39,439 --> 00:25:41,841 that a significant other is quite often 455 00:25:41,941 --> 00:25:44,477 the prime suspect in cases like this. 456 00:25:44,577 --> 00:25:46,379 So they had to ask, 457 00:25:46,479 --> 00:25:49,449 what did Bailey know about her parents' marriage? 458 00:26:21,147 --> 00:26:22,716 - So here in the sheriff's office, 459 00:26:22,816 --> 00:26:24,851 it was Bailey who told the investigators 460 00:26:24,951 --> 00:26:28,888 how she worried about the resort at Spider Lake. 461 00:26:29,055 --> 00:26:31,057 It was making her anxious, she said. 462 00:27:00,620 --> 00:27:02,255 - To help her cope, Bailey said, 463 00:27:02,355 --> 00:27:04,324 she confided in her friend, 464 00:27:04,424 --> 00:27:09,029 an older boy named Jeremy Majerus. 465 00:27:09,095 --> 00:27:10,597 He'd been coming around to see Bailey 466 00:27:10,697 --> 00:27:12,132 quite a lot that summer. 467 00:27:57,444 --> 00:27:59,079 - A resort they couldn't afford, 468 00:27:59,112 --> 00:28:01,548 an apparent arson fire in a garage, 469 00:28:01,648 --> 00:28:05,251 and an unapproved, maybe inappropriate older boy 470 00:28:05,352 --> 00:28:07,620 in their daughter's life. 471 00:28:07,721 --> 00:28:09,756 There were issues in this home, 472 00:28:09,856 --> 00:28:13,426 and a kid who needed talking to 473 00:28:13,526 --> 00:28:15,729 Jeremy Majerus. 474 00:28:32,345 --> 00:28:36,916 * 475 00:28:37,650 --> 00:28:39,152 - What happened in the Kruse house 476 00:28:39,252 --> 00:28:40,954 here in tiny Brewster, Minnesota 477 00:28:41,054 --> 00:28:42,822 was a truly terrible thing. 478 00:28:42,922 --> 00:28:44,924 The loss of that woman, Jan Kruse, 479 00:28:45,058 --> 00:28:48,361 a genuinely tragic event made even more so 480 00:28:48,461 --> 00:28:52,065 because it just seemed pointless. 481 00:28:52,132 --> 00:28:53,633 Why would somebody go into the house, 482 00:28:53,733 --> 00:28:54,834 shoot some sleeping woman? 483 00:28:54,934 --> 00:28:56,903 That didn't make any sense. 484 00:28:57,070 --> 00:29:00,340 So did she have any enemies who would want her dead? 485 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:03,276 - Oh, that was a question that we asked often 486 00:29:03,376 --> 00:29:06,079 was who would have wanted Jan dead? 487 00:29:06,179 --> 00:29:09,849 And we could not find one person 488 00:29:10,016 --> 00:29:11,117 that didn't like Jan 489 00:29:11,217 --> 00:29:14,320 or that thought she wasn't a good person. 490 00:29:14,421 --> 00:29:16,723 - There was, however, that young man, 491 00:29:16,823 --> 00:29:18,124 Jeremy Majerus, 492 00:29:18,224 --> 00:29:21,528 the not quite boyfriend, unapproved by Bailey's parents. 493 00:29:21,628 --> 00:29:25,398 Passions can run high in a situation like that. 494 00:29:25,498 --> 00:29:26,866 Jeremy's place, 495 00:29:27,033 --> 00:29:28,835 his family's farm, that is, 496 00:29:28,935 --> 00:29:31,438 was a 20 or 25 minute drive away 497 00:29:31,538 --> 00:29:32,706 from the Kruse house. 498 00:29:32,806 --> 00:29:35,075 Deputies drove out to talk to him, 499 00:29:35,175 --> 00:29:37,444 recorded the conversation. 500 00:29:50,390 --> 00:29:52,225 - So, asked the deputy, 501 00:29:52,325 --> 00:29:55,328 when was the last time he talked to Bailey 502 00:29:55,428 --> 00:29:57,697 or communicated at all? 503 00:30:05,472 --> 00:30:07,207 Jeremy said he met Bailey while helping out 504 00:30:07,307 --> 00:30:09,743 with the high school marching band. 505 00:30:09,843 --> 00:30:13,446 He had graduated but continued to volunteer, 506 00:30:13,546 --> 00:30:15,949 and somehow during those band practices, 507 00:30:16,049 --> 00:30:18,818 he and Bailey had grown close. 508 00:30:18,918 --> 00:30:20,120 It was all very innocent, he said, 509 00:30:20,220 --> 00:30:23,289 but they really, really liked each other. 510 00:31:20,146 --> 00:31:23,583 So they just talked, said Jeremy. 511 00:31:23,683 --> 00:31:27,554 And the deputy asked, what about lately? 512 00:31:37,864 --> 00:31:40,633 Jeremy said the arguments, according to Bailey, 513 00:31:40,734 --> 00:31:43,603 were about trying to buy the Spider Lake Resort. 514 00:32:01,254 --> 00:32:04,190 So Bailey was having trouble dealing with all that, 515 00:32:04,290 --> 00:32:05,592 said Jeremy. 516 00:32:19,973 --> 00:32:22,909 Was it true, what Jeremy was saying? 517 00:32:23,076 --> 00:32:24,778 Bailey hadn't said anything like that 518 00:32:24,878 --> 00:32:26,279 when she talked to investigators 519 00:32:26,379 --> 00:32:29,315 a few hours after her mother was killed. 520 00:32:29,416 --> 00:32:33,386 So the very next day, they brought Bailey in again 521 00:32:33,486 --> 00:32:35,855 to ask about her parents. 522 00:32:35,955 --> 00:32:38,858 At first, they didn't tell her they've been talking to Jeremy. 523 00:32:44,164 --> 00:32:46,099 No disagreements? 524 00:32:46,199 --> 00:32:49,202 Then they told her about the Jeremy interview. 525 00:33:09,723 --> 00:33:12,592 And then she painted a slightly different picture 526 00:33:12,692 --> 00:33:14,728 of what had been going on at home. 527 00:33:14,828 --> 00:33:18,365 Things had been difficult lately. 528 00:33:18,465 --> 00:33:20,734 There was that upsetting garage fire, 529 00:33:20,834 --> 00:33:23,370 but also Jan had a hysterectomy, 530 00:33:23,470 --> 00:33:26,473 Chris had his appendix out, and then on top of it all, 531 00:33:26,573 --> 00:33:29,175 they were trying to figure out the whole resort deal. 532 00:33:37,384 --> 00:33:38,718 So once again, they asked Bailey 533 00:33:38,818 --> 00:33:41,087 what happened the night her mother was shot, 534 00:33:41,121 --> 00:33:43,223 what she heard from her bedroom 535 00:33:43,323 --> 00:33:45,859 one floor below her parents' room. 536 00:33:45,959 --> 00:33:49,362 - We asked Bailey, did you hear anybody 537 00:33:49,462 --> 00:33:52,799 running out of the house or-or moving around? 538 00:33:52,899 --> 00:33:55,101 And she said she only heard 539 00:33:55,135 --> 00:33:58,004 one set of steps from upstairs, 540 00:33:58,104 --> 00:33:59,739 and that was Chris. 541 00:33:59,839 --> 00:34:02,575 He was the only one that was moving around upstairs. 542 00:34:02,676 --> 00:34:05,178 She did not hear anybody else. 543 00:34:05,278 --> 00:34:07,814 - Now, what did that mean? 544 00:34:07,914 --> 00:34:09,315 And what would it mean when paired 545 00:34:09,416 --> 00:34:12,585 with CSI reports now coming in 546 00:34:12,686 --> 00:34:15,889 about curious little particulars of the crime scene. 547 00:34:18,058 --> 00:34:19,559 - Coming up... 548 00:34:19,659 --> 00:34:21,761 Chris seems to change his story. 549 00:34:41,648 --> 00:34:42,315 - The way people say goodbye 550 00:34:43,116 --> 00:34:45,518 can tell you a lot about a community. 551 00:34:45,618 --> 00:34:48,421 And about the person they gather for. 552 00:34:48,521 --> 00:34:50,990 The funeral for Jan Kruse. 553 00:34:51,091 --> 00:34:53,727 - The visitation was at the Lutheran church, 554 00:34:53,827 --> 00:34:55,462 and there were people lined up down the block 555 00:34:55,562 --> 00:34:59,132 waiting to get in. Because Jan was so liked 556 00:34:59,232 --> 00:35:01,801 and respected in the community, 557 00:35:01,901 --> 00:35:05,038 it was a long, long day, and-- 558 00:35:05,138 --> 00:35:08,508 but it was... 559 00:35:08,608 --> 00:35:09,743 I don't know, heartwarming. 560 00:35:09,843 --> 00:35:13,880 Or that many people cared-- cared about her 561 00:35:14,047 --> 00:35:16,649 and about her family, and Chris, and Isaac, and Bailey 562 00:35:16,750 --> 00:35:20,053 to come pay their respects to her. 563 00:35:20,153 --> 00:35:23,289 - Whole town was probably pretty upset. 564 00:35:23,390 --> 00:35:25,792 - Yes, she'd lived here all of her life, 565 00:35:25,892 --> 00:35:28,328 so she knew a lot of people. 566 00:35:28,428 --> 00:35:31,297 They had good things to say about her. 567 00:35:31,398 --> 00:35:35,335 - And so there was a respectful pause. 568 00:35:35,435 --> 00:35:37,637 And then a couple of days later, 569 00:35:37,737 --> 00:35:40,407 Chris Kruse was once again at the sheriff's office, 570 00:35:40,507 --> 00:35:42,375 with Senior Special Sgent Woodford. 571 00:35:44,310 --> 00:35:46,980 Some things had been bothering Woodford. 572 00:35:47,080 --> 00:35:50,784 Like why Chris said he'd only heard one gunshot, 573 00:35:50,884 --> 00:35:53,119 when obviously there had been two. 574 00:36:19,112 --> 00:36:23,383 But that first slug, the one he said he did not hear? 575 00:36:23,483 --> 00:36:24,651 Agent Woodford explained to Chris 576 00:36:24,751 --> 00:36:26,853 that one would have hit him 577 00:36:26,953 --> 00:36:30,357 had he been lying in bed beside Jan as he said he was. 578 00:37:33,653 --> 00:37:36,756 Then Agent Woodford told Chris that the autopsy revealed 579 00:37:36,856 --> 00:37:40,326 that Jan was actually sitting up when she was hit, 580 00:37:40,427 --> 00:37:43,096 with her right arm stretched out toward the shooter. 581 00:37:43,196 --> 00:37:46,766 In fact, her right hand was grazed by the shot. 582 00:37:46,866 --> 00:37:50,070 - To me, almost like she saw it coming. 583 00:37:50,103 --> 00:37:54,074 - Yeah. - And so that was a concern 584 00:37:54,140 --> 00:37:56,609 based on what Chris had told me the first time, 585 00:37:56,710 --> 00:37:59,079 that she was shot when they were laying down. 586 00:38:27,507 --> 00:38:30,577 - And here Chris seems to alter the narrative. 587 00:38:30,677 --> 00:38:34,314 Says he awoke to find his wife sitting up beside him. 588 00:39:04,511 --> 00:39:07,113 So was this man changing his story? 589 00:39:41,648 --> 00:39:44,651 Then Agent Woodford asked Chris again 590 00:39:44,751 --> 00:39:47,620 about what he heard Jan say that night. 591 00:40:10,610 --> 00:40:12,579 Chris was not under arrest, of course, 592 00:40:12,679 --> 00:40:15,882 though he had to know he was under a microscope. 593 00:40:15,982 --> 00:40:19,819 So the answers he was giving, was he just confused? 594 00:40:19,919 --> 00:40:21,888 What was going on here? 595 00:40:21,988 --> 00:40:23,590 Agent Woodford was all too familiar 596 00:40:23,690 --> 00:40:25,625 with the worst of human behavior. 597 00:40:25,725 --> 00:40:29,095 Very aware, too, that he was talking to a grieving husband, 598 00:40:29,195 --> 00:40:31,498 but aware also that grieving spouses 599 00:40:31,598 --> 00:40:33,833 and relatives and friends are fully capable 600 00:40:33,933 --> 00:40:37,971 of the most determined mendacity when hiding culpability 601 00:40:38,071 --> 00:40:40,607 for the worst thing they've ever done. 602 00:40:40,707 --> 00:40:42,108 So he and his fellow investigators 603 00:40:42,208 --> 00:40:45,078 were certainly not finished with Chris Kruse 604 00:40:45,178 --> 00:40:48,214 and things that seemed, to them, odd. 605 00:42:22,208 --> 00:42:23,843 - Another puzzling detail. 606 00:42:23,943 --> 00:42:25,979 If his wife is bleeding to death, 607 00:42:26,079 --> 00:42:28,248 how is Chris so clean? 608 00:42:28,348 --> 00:42:29,382 Coming up... 609 00:42:42,195 --> 00:42:45,298 When "Dateline: Secrets Uncovered" continues. 610 00:42:53,707 --> 00:42:56,343 - Welcome back to "Dateline: Secrets Uncovered." 611 00:42:56,443 --> 00:42:57,610 I'm Kate Snow. 612 00:42:57,711 --> 00:42:59,813 Chris Kruse was in the hot seat. 613 00:42:59,913 --> 00:43:01,915 Detectives were challenging his story 614 00:43:02,048 --> 00:43:04,818 about the night his wife, Jan, was murdered. 615 00:43:04,918 --> 00:43:07,821 And the interrogation was far from over. 616 00:43:07,921 --> 00:43:09,289 Pressure was mounting, 617 00:43:09,389 --> 00:43:12,659 and Chris was about to offer police a new name, 618 00:43:12,759 --> 00:43:16,596 someone he suspected had a motive to kill Jan. 619 00:43:16,696 --> 00:43:20,800 Here again is Keith Morrison with Far From Spider Lake. 620 00:43:20,900 --> 00:43:23,937 - Chris Kruse had buried his wife of 20 years 621 00:43:24,070 --> 00:43:27,574 along with their dream of owning a lakeside resort. 622 00:43:27,674 --> 00:43:31,144 Now he sat in an interview room in the county sheriff's office 623 00:43:31,244 --> 00:43:34,547 facing questions from Agent Derek Woodford. 624 00:43:37,817 --> 00:43:39,652 Chris said he was lying right beside his wife 625 00:43:39,753 --> 00:43:42,188 when she was shot. And as Woodford knew, 626 00:43:42,288 --> 00:43:44,924 Jan bled rapidly and profusely. 627 00:43:45,091 --> 00:43:47,260 Yet somehow, there was surprisingly 628 00:43:47,360 --> 00:43:49,462 little blood on Chris. 629 00:43:49,562 --> 00:43:51,765 It didn't make any sense to Woodford. 630 00:43:51,865 --> 00:43:55,635 - We believe with the amount of blood at the scene, 631 00:43:55,735 --> 00:43:58,772 we felt there should have been 632 00:43:58,872 --> 00:44:00,874 blood on Kruse. 633 00:44:01,041 --> 00:44:04,210 - Especially because Chris said he wasn't just lying beside Jan. 634 00:44:04,310 --> 00:44:07,113 He actually laid her down flat on the bed 635 00:44:07,213 --> 00:44:09,082 after she was shot. 636 00:44:13,053 --> 00:44:15,655 - I want to say my left hand was just-- 637 00:44:31,805 --> 00:44:34,307 - No blood on his hands, 638 00:44:34,407 --> 00:44:37,811 but an odd mark on the front of his shirt. 639 00:44:37,911 --> 00:44:41,448 - From how he describes being in bed with Jan, 640 00:44:41,548 --> 00:44:44,317 we were trying to figure out where that mark came from 641 00:44:44,417 --> 00:44:48,088 because it didn't make sense from-- 642 00:44:48,188 --> 00:44:50,623 just by laying next to her in bed. 643 00:44:50,724 --> 00:44:52,926 - More like something was imprinted on the shirt, 644 00:44:53,093 --> 00:44:54,894 not like it was blood splatter 645 00:44:54,994 --> 00:44:56,930 or anything like that. - Right. Right. 646 00:45:47,180 --> 00:45:48,915 - Despite what some people like to claim, 647 00:45:49,082 --> 00:45:50,784 it can be quite hard to tell if the stranger 648 00:45:50,884 --> 00:45:54,888 sitting in front of you is lying or telling the truth. 649 00:45:54,988 --> 00:45:57,857 But in this case, said the investigators, 650 00:45:57,957 --> 00:46:01,394 what Chris was telling them wasn't adding up. 651 00:46:18,044 --> 00:46:21,147 They hooked up Chris to a polygraph. 652 00:46:21,247 --> 00:46:25,085 The test revealed deception, they told him. 653 00:46:25,185 --> 00:46:29,055 And then Chris offered up a possible suspect. 654 00:46:47,140 --> 00:46:50,076 Lisa? Who was Lisa? 655 00:46:52,779 --> 00:46:55,682 - Hints of a rare conflict in Jan's life. 656 00:46:55,782 --> 00:46:57,884 Did it play a part in her death? 657 00:46:57,984 --> 00:46:59,419 Coming up... 658 00:46:59,519 --> 00:47:01,321 - We had gotten further information 659 00:47:01,421 --> 00:47:04,024 that she had maybe had some friction with Jan. 660 00:47:04,124 --> 00:47:05,525 - A possible lead. 661 00:47:12,899 --> 00:47:16,269 And Jeremy says this was not a happy family. 662 00:47:16,369 --> 00:47:19,606 - Bailey had told him they had mentioned the word divorce. 663 00:47:43,563 --> 00:47:45,865 - People talk, and in a town like Brewster, 664 00:47:46,766 --> 00:47:49,936 everybody knew about the murder of Jan Kruse. 665 00:47:50,070 --> 00:47:51,638 Everybody had opinions, 666 00:47:51,738 --> 00:47:54,574 and one the investigators heard about was 667 00:47:54,674 --> 00:47:56,609 that one of Jan's neighbors, 668 00:47:56,710 --> 00:47:58,278 a woman who lived just down the block, 669 00:47:58,378 --> 00:48:01,181 might have been nursing a grudge. 670 00:48:01,281 --> 00:48:02,782 - We had gotten further information 671 00:48:02,882 --> 00:48:06,119 that she had maybe had some friction with Jan. 672 00:48:06,219 --> 00:48:08,088 - This woman, Lisa, 673 00:48:08,188 --> 00:48:10,023 had apparently been upset about Jan 674 00:48:10,056 --> 00:48:12,592 shutting down the daycare center she had been running 675 00:48:12,692 --> 00:48:14,461 because her son went there. 676 00:48:30,243 --> 00:48:33,680 And it wasn't like she and her husband didn't have access. 677 00:48:37,350 --> 00:48:40,086 So, of course, the investigators talked to Lisa. 678 00:48:40,186 --> 00:48:41,721 They found her at work. 679 00:48:49,162 --> 00:48:52,832 - Anyway, the daycare incident was practically ancient history. 680 00:48:52,932 --> 00:48:54,634 Didn't make sense. 681 00:48:54,734 --> 00:48:56,603 - She was not involved. 682 00:48:56,703 --> 00:48:58,138 - They looked at other people too, 683 00:48:58,238 --> 00:49:00,440 other possible suspects. 684 00:49:00,540 --> 00:49:02,742 - We had interviewed over 40 people. 685 00:49:02,842 --> 00:49:05,278 Some people multiple times. 686 00:49:05,378 --> 00:49:09,582 - They even took a hard look at two of Chris's own brothers. 687 00:49:09,683 --> 00:49:13,420 But they and all the others were cleared. 688 00:49:17,023 --> 00:49:19,192 All but one. 689 00:49:19,292 --> 00:49:21,161 Almost a year after the murder, 690 00:49:21,261 --> 00:49:24,264 investigators went back to Jeremy Majerus, 691 00:49:24,364 --> 00:49:26,700 the not quite boyfriend. 692 00:49:26,800 --> 00:49:31,137 Possible motive? As old as first love. 693 00:49:31,237 --> 00:49:34,374 Chris, Jeremy had told them, was really the one 694 00:49:34,474 --> 00:49:37,043 stopping him from dating Bailey. 695 00:49:37,110 --> 00:49:39,646 So the investigators had to consider, 696 00:49:39,746 --> 00:49:42,515 maybe Jeremy tried to take revenge on Chris 697 00:49:42,615 --> 00:49:45,418 and shot Jan by mistake. 698 00:49:45,518 --> 00:49:47,287 Jeremy had already admitted he sneaked in 699 00:49:47,387 --> 00:49:50,323 to see Bailey in her house many times that summer, 700 00:49:50,423 --> 00:49:52,292 unbeknownst to her parents, 701 00:49:52,392 --> 00:49:55,528 and he knew if they bought the Spider Lake Resort, 702 00:49:55,628 --> 00:49:59,366 they'd be taking Bailey hundreds of miles away from him. 703 00:50:00,400 --> 00:50:02,869 So where was he the night of the murder? 704 00:50:02,969 --> 00:50:04,738 - Initially, he had told investigators 705 00:50:04,838 --> 00:50:08,742 that he did not leave his house that night. 706 00:50:08,842 --> 00:50:11,811 - But that was a lie. 707 00:50:11,911 --> 00:50:15,615 - And then in further talking with Jeremy, 708 00:50:15,715 --> 00:50:18,585 he had admitted to us that he did leave the house 709 00:50:18,685 --> 00:50:22,188 to-to go check on Bailey and was concerned about her. 710 00:50:22,288 --> 00:50:23,890 - His story? 711 00:50:23,990 --> 00:50:27,293 Bailey had texted him after she heard those two shots, 712 00:50:27,394 --> 00:50:30,563 and there was indeed a text, one word. 713 00:50:30,663 --> 00:50:32,499 Jeremy! 714 00:50:32,599 --> 00:50:35,201 That alarmed him, he said, so he drove to Brewster, 715 00:50:35,301 --> 00:50:38,638 texting her along the way, asking her what was wrong, 716 00:50:38,738 --> 00:50:40,373 but when he arrived, Bailey's street 717 00:50:40,473 --> 00:50:42,776 was filled with emergency vehicles, 718 00:50:42,876 --> 00:50:44,978 so he returned home. 719 00:50:45,078 --> 00:50:48,214 Kind of something he should have told you right off the bat. 720 00:50:48,314 --> 00:50:51,685 - Yes. And we-- - How did he explain that? 721 00:50:51,785 --> 00:50:55,588 - What he had indicated to us is that based on everything 722 00:50:55,689 --> 00:50:58,358 that had been going on at the Kruse residence, 723 00:50:58,458 --> 00:51:02,195 his dad had told him that he thought 724 00:51:02,295 --> 00:51:04,497 he should stay out of it and not get involved. 725 00:51:04,597 --> 00:51:07,567 Thus not telling us that he left 726 00:51:07,667 --> 00:51:11,371 to go to Brewster that night after Bailey had texted him. 727 00:51:11,471 --> 00:51:13,640 - Jeremy took a polygraph. 728 00:51:13,740 --> 00:51:16,876 He also showed deception, 729 00:51:16,976 --> 00:51:20,213 but not about where he was, Jeremy swore. 730 00:51:20,313 --> 00:51:23,550 No, the deception, he told them, was something else. 731 00:51:23,650 --> 00:51:25,418 He didn't tell them earlier, he said, 732 00:51:25,518 --> 00:51:28,655 because Bailey swore him to secrecy. 733 00:51:28,755 --> 00:51:32,092 It was about the state of her parents' marriage. 734 00:51:32,158 --> 00:51:35,729 Which was what? - Which was that 735 00:51:35,829 --> 00:51:40,100 Bailey had told him they had mentioned the word divorce. 736 00:51:40,200 --> 00:51:43,203 - Divorce? Chris never mentioned that. 737 00:51:43,303 --> 00:51:46,172 In fact, he said he and Jan got along well. 738 00:52:10,497 --> 00:52:13,667 And he told them something else about Bailey. 739 00:52:35,355 --> 00:52:38,124 That's because Bailey had told him... 740 00:52:51,438 --> 00:52:55,408 Was he making all this up to protect himself, 741 00:52:55,508 --> 00:52:59,679 or was this devastating evidence against Chris? 742 00:53:02,482 --> 00:53:03,783 - Coming up... 743 00:53:03,883 --> 00:53:06,186 Chris points his finger at Jeremy. 744 00:53:13,393 --> 00:53:16,062 When "Dateline: Secrets Uncovered" continues. 745 00:53:26,840 --> 00:53:31,211 - The letters turned up a year and a half after the murder. 746 00:53:31,311 --> 00:53:33,179 It was Chris Kruse who found them, 747 00:53:33,279 --> 00:53:35,382 offered them up to investigators. 748 00:53:35,482 --> 00:53:37,984 Disturbing letters, said Chris, 749 00:53:38,084 --> 00:53:40,086 sent purportedly 750 00:53:40,153 --> 00:53:43,456 by Jeremy Majerus to Bailey. 751 00:53:43,556 --> 00:53:44,758 But Chris had an idea 752 00:53:44,858 --> 00:53:47,260 it might have been creepier than that, 753 00:53:47,360 --> 00:53:49,963 given this phrase in one of them. 754 00:53:50,096 --> 00:53:52,532 "Love you, daughter." 755 00:53:52,632 --> 00:53:56,169 - Chris had a concern that maybe Jeremy's dad 756 00:53:56,269 --> 00:53:59,472 had been writing some of these letters to Bailey. 757 00:54:01,441 --> 00:54:04,344 I followed up on that, and that was not the case. 758 00:54:04,444 --> 00:54:06,880 - They were simply Jeremy's love letters, 759 00:54:07,047 --> 00:54:10,050 said Woodford. Nothing more. 760 00:54:10,150 --> 00:54:12,619 But Chris was not satisfied. 761 00:54:12,719 --> 00:54:16,523 Might Jeremy be Jan's killer, he wondered. 762 00:54:43,783 --> 00:54:47,987 But did he himself really think Jeremy killed Jan? 763 00:54:54,094 --> 00:54:57,330 No. And after four interviews with Jeremy, 764 00:54:57,430 --> 00:55:00,100 Agent Woodford came to the same conclusion. 765 00:55:00,200 --> 00:55:04,037 Lies or no, Jeremy didn't do it. 766 00:55:04,104 --> 00:55:07,440 That conclusion was bolstered by Jeremy's father, 767 00:55:07,540 --> 00:55:09,709 who said he was up watching TV with his son 768 00:55:09,809 --> 00:55:12,946 when Jan was shot 25 miles away. 769 00:55:13,046 --> 00:55:17,550 He saw that Jeremy text just after it came in. 770 00:55:18,551 --> 00:55:22,589 But if Jeremy was out of the picture, Chris wasn't. 771 00:55:22,689 --> 00:55:26,226 In fact, the day Chris turned in those Jeremy letters, 772 00:55:26,326 --> 00:55:28,428 Agent Woodford steered the conversation 773 00:55:28,528 --> 00:55:31,831 back to a question he had not been able to resolve. 774 00:55:48,214 --> 00:55:51,084 The implication was impossible to miss, 775 00:55:51,184 --> 00:55:54,454 especially after they found the murder weapon 776 00:55:54,554 --> 00:55:57,257 in Chris's own construction company shop, 777 00:55:57,357 --> 00:55:59,592 a minute's drive from the house. 778 00:55:59,693 --> 00:56:02,896 Bailey, remember, had said she heard gunshots, 779 00:56:03,029 --> 00:56:05,865 quote, "at, like, 2:30," 780 00:56:06,032 --> 00:56:09,369 and Chris called 911 at 2:39. 781 00:56:09,469 --> 00:56:12,772 Was nine minutes enough time to stash the gun? 782 00:56:12,872 --> 00:56:15,508 - I actually drove that at speed limit 783 00:56:15,608 --> 00:56:18,778 to the shop and back, and taking a count, 784 00:56:18,878 --> 00:56:21,047 it would take a minute to go into the shop. 785 00:56:21,081 --> 00:56:23,049 It was only three minutes. 786 00:56:23,149 --> 00:56:26,052 - Woodford broke the gun news to Chris. 787 00:56:56,282 --> 00:56:58,752 - But his mind may not have raced for long. 788 00:56:58,852 --> 00:57:01,521 Even though they were clearly suspicious of him, 789 00:57:01,621 --> 00:57:03,923 they still had more investigating to do. 790 00:57:04,024 --> 00:57:06,693 So Chris was free to go, 791 00:57:06,793 --> 00:57:10,597 and nothing happened for months, for years. 792 00:57:10,697 --> 00:57:13,867 The whole family tried to let it go 793 00:57:14,034 --> 00:57:15,935 as they settled into the hard business 794 00:57:16,036 --> 00:57:18,271 of learning to live without Jan 795 00:57:18,371 --> 00:57:20,707 and without knowing who killed her, 796 00:57:20,807 --> 00:57:24,210 except that they were sure it wasn't Chris. 797 00:57:24,310 --> 00:57:27,180 - There's nothing to think that 798 00:57:27,280 --> 00:57:29,282 Chris had any involvement in this. 799 00:57:29,382 --> 00:57:32,585 - Nobody could fake anything that much 800 00:57:32,686 --> 00:57:34,354 and not slip up. 801 00:57:34,454 --> 00:57:36,790 - What's more, they all said they never saw Chris 802 00:57:36,890 --> 00:57:39,859 get violent or be mean to Jan ever. 803 00:57:39,959 --> 00:57:42,062 - I mean, they truly loved each other. 804 00:57:42,095 --> 00:57:45,065 And he never had a harsh word about Jan ever. 805 00:57:45,165 --> 00:57:47,200 And the same with Jan towards Chris. 806 00:57:47,300 --> 00:57:51,137 - So maybe they'd just never know who killed Jan. 807 00:57:51,237 --> 00:57:53,973 Did you have an expectation that this was just going to go away 808 00:57:54,074 --> 00:57:55,942 and they'd never find out who did it? 809 00:57:56,076 --> 00:58:00,213 - We were emotionally set that this-- 810 00:58:00,313 --> 00:58:04,317 no one would be brought to justice in this world. 811 00:58:04,417 --> 00:58:06,720 It'd have to be by God, and-and-- 812 00:58:06,820 --> 00:58:08,888 that they'd have to answer to. 813 00:58:09,022 --> 00:58:12,025 It wouldn't happen here. 814 00:58:12,058 --> 00:58:15,695 - And then in March 2019, 815 00:58:15,795 --> 00:58:18,031 three and a half years after the murder, 816 00:58:18,098 --> 00:58:20,033 something did happen. 817 00:58:20,133 --> 00:58:22,569 The county attorney's office decided to take the case 818 00:58:22,669 --> 00:58:24,170 to a grand jury. 819 00:58:24,270 --> 00:58:26,906 And that grand jury indicted Chris Kruze 820 00:58:27,040 --> 00:58:29,676 for first degree murder, 821 00:58:29,776 --> 00:58:32,612 to his family's utter dismay. 822 00:58:32,712 --> 00:58:35,382 And insult to injury... 823 00:58:35,482 --> 00:58:36,750 - They would-- could've simply asked him 824 00:58:36,850 --> 00:58:39,719 to come down to the police station 825 00:58:39,819 --> 00:58:42,655 and arrested him there. But they made a big scene. 826 00:58:42,756 --> 00:58:45,725 It was actually about a block from where I work. 827 00:58:45,825 --> 00:58:48,862 You know, guns drawn, and it was just totally blown. 828 00:58:48,962 --> 00:58:51,898 I mean, I didn't understand that at all. 829 00:58:52,065 --> 00:58:53,266 - Once he got arrested, I mean, 830 00:58:53,366 --> 00:58:54,634 we all came together as a family 831 00:58:54,734 --> 00:58:55,635 and figured out what we had to do 832 00:58:55,735 --> 00:58:57,470 to help get an attorney lined up. 833 00:58:57,570 --> 00:59:00,507 - That would be Tom Hagen and Steven Groschen. 834 00:59:00,607 --> 00:59:04,144 This would be their first ever first degree murder trial. 835 00:59:04,244 --> 00:59:06,546 - I got a call, I believe, on a Friday night, late. 836 00:59:06,646 --> 00:59:07,781 Chris just got arrested. 837 00:59:07,881 --> 00:59:09,015 He didn't know what was going on. 838 00:59:09,049 --> 00:59:10,383 He didn't understand how this happened. 839 00:59:12,385 --> 00:59:14,587 - And they couldn't understand it either. 840 00:59:14,688 --> 00:59:17,424 They went through the evidence looking for an answer, 841 00:59:17,524 --> 00:59:18,892 but couldn't find one. 842 00:59:19,025 --> 00:59:20,927 - Painstakingly going through the videos, 843 00:59:21,027 --> 00:59:23,329 painstakingly going through the interviews. 844 00:59:23,430 --> 00:59:25,865 When he spoke to law enforcement, 845 00:59:26,032 --> 00:59:28,268 he seemed to be, to me, very truthful 846 00:59:28,368 --> 00:59:30,203 and just trying to be extremely helpful. 847 00:59:30,303 --> 00:59:31,705 And his stories was fairly consistent 848 00:59:31,805 --> 00:59:33,073 all the way throughout. 849 00:59:33,173 --> 00:59:36,343 - But Braden Hoefert, then the assistant county attorney, 850 00:59:36,443 --> 00:59:38,812 said Chris was not only not consistent, 851 00:59:38,912 --> 00:59:41,915 there were serious problems with the stories he told. 852 00:59:42,048 --> 00:59:44,284 - The thing that I remember sticking out to me the most 853 00:59:44,384 --> 00:59:47,153 upon watching the version of events 854 00:59:47,253 --> 00:59:50,724 as described by Mr. Kruse was the difficulty 855 00:59:50,824 --> 00:59:55,795 that I was having making sense of exactly 856 00:59:55,895 --> 00:59:58,298 how this would have occurred, 857 00:59:58,398 --> 01:00:01,234 without him seeing 858 01:00:01,334 --> 01:00:03,136 or being able to offer any description 859 01:00:03,236 --> 01:00:05,271 of the supposed perpetrator. 860 01:00:05,372 --> 01:00:08,708 - So, in other words, did his stories make sense? 861 01:00:08,808 --> 01:00:12,078 - You know, as a prosecutor, you always think about 862 01:00:12,178 --> 01:00:14,047 how it's going to make sense to a jury. 863 01:00:14,147 --> 01:00:15,215 - Mm-hmm. 864 01:00:15,315 --> 01:00:17,150 - And it's not necessarily important what I think, 865 01:00:17,250 --> 01:00:19,185 or even what the investigator thinks, 866 01:00:19,285 --> 01:00:21,321 but what is the average person in Nobles County 867 01:00:21,421 --> 01:00:22,956 going to think about this? 868 01:00:23,056 --> 01:00:26,726 The impression I walked away with it was-- that, um, 869 01:00:26,826 --> 01:00:29,229 I didn't believe it would make a lot of sense 870 01:00:29,329 --> 01:00:33,400 to the average person in Nobles County. 871 01:00:33,500 --> 01:00:34,834 - Would it? 872 01:00:34,934 --> 01:00:37,370 A jury of those average people 873 01:00:37,470 --> 01:00:41,107 was impaneled in late January 2020. 874 01:00:41,207 --> 01:00:44,711 But what's an average person anyway? 875 01:00:44,811 --> 01:00:47,981 Can you ever really know what average people will do? 876 01:00:48,081 --> 01:00:52,085 * 877 01:00:52,185 --> 01:00:53,586 - Coming up... 878 01:00:53,687 --> 01:00:55,422 the prosecution's case. 879 01:00:55,522 --> 01:00:58,491 - The word divorce being thrown around. 880 01:00:58,591 --> 01:01:01,828 Either he's killed by the first shotgun blast, 881 01:01:01,928 --> 01:01:03,863 or he's covered in blood, 882 01:01:03,963 --> 01:01:06,099 and Mr. Kruse was neither. 883 01:01:06,199 --> 01:01:09,235 This was clearly a premeditated murder. 884 01:01:16,509 --> 01:01:20,413 * 885 01:01:20,780 --> 01:01:21,514 Welcome back. 886 01:01:21,614 --> 01:01:23,516 Chris Kruse was heading to trial 887 01:01:23,616 --> 01:01:25,652 for the murder of his wife, Jan. 888 01:01:25,752 --> 01:01:28,088 The prosecutor was ready to explain 889 01:01:28,154 --> 01:01:30,523 not only how Chris shot Jan, 890 01:01:30,623 --> 01:01:34,661 but why, and her family, who had stood by Chris, 891 01:01:34,761 --> 01:01:38,098 would be in court for every agonizing moment. 892 01:01:38,131 --> 01:01:39,666 Could their opinion of a man 893 01:01:39,766 --> 01:01:42,669 they loved like their own be swayed? 894 01:01:42,769 --> 01:01:45,839 Once again, Keith Morrison with "Far From Spider Lake." 895 01:01:48,708 --> 01:01:51,578 - Prosecutor Braden Hoefert had a story for the jury 896 01:01:51,678 --> 01:01:53,513 in the trial of Chris Kruse. 897 01:01:53,613 --> 01:01:57,350 A true story, he told them, and pretty simple. 898 01:01:57,450 --> 01:02:00,854 The killing of Jan Kruse was an inside job. 899 01:02:00,954 --> 01:02:03,590 - Nothing had been missing from the house, 900 01:02:03,690 --> 01:02:07,394 and so this was clearly a premeditated murder. 901 01:02:07,494 --> 01:02:10,130 - Committed by the one person in the position to do it, 902 01:02:10,230 --> 01:02:14,067 said the prosecutor, the husband, Chris Kruse. 903 01:02:14,134 --> 01:02:15,635 The evidence? 904 01:02:15,735 --> 01:02:17,771 Well, for one thing, he told the jury 905 01:02:17,871 --> 01:02:21,341 there were all those hours of police interviews full of, 906 01:02:21,441 --> 01:02:24,277 he said, inconsistencies. 907 01:02:24,377 --> 01:02:26,112 He played them for the jury. 908 01:02:26,212 --> 01:02:29,315 - The version of events changes over time, 909 01:02:29,416 --> 01:02:31,818 and it also does not appear to be possible 910 01:02:31,918 --> 01:02:34,721 based off of the physical evidence. 911 01:02:34,821 --> 01:02:36,389 - So break that down a little bit. 912 01:02:36,489 --> 01:02:40,760 He gave a similar version in the first two interviews. 913 01:02:40,860 --> 01:02:44,130 Jan was asleep or lying down 914 01:02:44,230 --> 01:02:45,832 when she is shot. 915 01:02:45,932 --> 01:02:49,602 But the ME's report clearly established 916 01:02:49,703 --> 01:02:53,973 that she, uh, had her hand outstretched 917 01:02:54,107 --> 01:02:56,443 in the direction of the assailant, 918 01:02:56,543 --> 01:02:59,346 which of course meant that she was awake 919 01:02:59,446 --> 01:03:02,949 and saw the person who did this to her. 920 01:03:03,049 --> 01:03:05,051 - It was only after the autopsy report 921 01:03:05,151 --> 01:03:07,821 was explained to Chris, the prosecutor said, 922 01:03:07,921 --> 01:03:09,956 that Chris changed his story, 923 01:03:10,056 --> 01:03:13,093 and said Jan was sitting up when she was hit. 924 01:03:13,193 --> 01:03:14,894 As for that first bullet, 925 01:03:15,061 --> 01:03:17,564 the one that plowed through the pillows, the headboard, 926 01:03:17,664 --> 01:03:18,932 the wall... 927 01:03:19,065 --> 01:03:20,633 could you see any way where he could have been 928 01:03:20,734 --> 01:03:22,602 lying in that bed beside her 929 01:03:22,702 --> 01:03:26,740 and not be touched by that passing slug? 930 01:03:26,840 --> 01:03:28,575 - The, uh... 931 01:03:28,675 --> 01:03:31,945 description that Mr. Kruse gave of their sleeping position, 932 01:03:32,078 --> 01:03:34,514 in effect, spooning with Jan, 933 01:03:34,614 --> 01:03:36,783 that they were lying in the center of the bed, 934 01:03:36,883 --> 01:03:39,085 and he had his arm underneath her, 935 01:03:39,185 --> 01:03:42,422 and they were facing away from the door. 936 01:03:42,522 --> 01:03:44,691 So with the door to their back, um, 937 01:03:44,791 --> 01:03:46,826 it would not have been possible 938 01:03:46,926 --> 01:03:50,096 for him to be in that position without being killed 939 01:03:50,196 --> 01:03:51,831 by the first gunshot. 940 01:03:51,931 --> 01:03:53,733 - Anyway, he said, the pillows on which 941 01:03:53,833 --> 01:03:55,969 Chris said he had been lying, 942 01:03:56,102 --> 01:03:58,772 were filled with tiny fragments of the slug 943 01:03:58,872 --> 01:04:01,074 that went through Jan. 944 01:04:01,174 --> 01:04:02,642 And yet... 945 01:04:02,742 --> 01:04:04,878 - Mr. Kruse did not have any scratches 946 01:04:05,045 --> 01:04:07,881 or pieces of metal in his face, uh, 947 01:04:08,048 --> 01:04:10,684 during his first interview with police, which was, uh, 948 01:04:10,784 --> 01:04:12,419 later that morning. 949 01:04:12,519 --> 01:04:16,456 - And it wasn't just lead on and in his pillows. 950 01:04:16,556 --> 01:04:20,927 - The crime scene team counted 15 to 25... 951 01:04:21,061 --> 01:04:24,831 uh, droplets of blood that were in the position 952 01:04:24,931 --> 01:04:27,067 that Mr. Kruse claimed to have been in 953 01:04:27,133 --> 01:04:30,403 at the time that the, uh, gunshot went off. 954 01:04:30,503 --> 01:04:32,639 - So magically, these blood drops 955 01:04:32,739 --> 01:04:34,074 would have gone through him 956 01:04:34,140 --> 01:04:36,810 and landed on the mattress of the bed or on the pillows 957 01:04:36,910 --> 01:04:37,977 without touching them. 958 01:04:38,078 --> 01:04:39,446 - What I argued to the jury, 959 01:04:39,546 --> 01:04:42,382 was that depending on his position in the bed, 960 01:04:42,482 --> 01:04:44,617 he either gets blood or bullet. 961 01:04:44,718 --> 01:04:46,853 He either, um, is killed. 962 01:04:46,953 --> 01:04:51,091 Killed by the first shotgun, uh, blast, 963 01:04:51,124 --> 01:04:52,926 or he is covered in blood. 964 01:04:53,093 --> 01:04:55,195 And Mr. Kruse was neither. 965 01:04:55,295 --> 01:04:57,430 - Which meant, said the prosecutor, 966 01:04:57,530 --> 01:05:00,600 that Chris could not have been in bed, as he said he was 967 01:05:00,700 --> 01:05:02,769 when those shots were fired. 968 01:05:02,869 --> 01:05:06,840 Hoefert also pointed out steps Chris did not take. 969 01:05:06,940 --> 01:05:10,043 - He did not arm himself, despite there being 970 01:05:10,143 --> 01:05:12,345 a firearm in the bedroom. - Mm-hmm. 971 01:05:12,445 --> 01:05:15,315 - He did not barricade the back door. 972 01:05:15,415 --> 01:05:18,351 He did not help Jan. 973 01:05:18,451 --> 01:05:21,388 He did not attempt first aid or to... 974 01:05:21,488 --> 01:05:24,758 try to stop the wound from bleeding, 975 01:05:24,858 --> 01:05:27,961 did not hold her hand or to try to comfort her. 976 01:05:28,061 --> 01:05:31,131 He indicated that he went to the doorway, 977 01:05:31,231 --> 01:05:34,234 and quickly looked at her 978 01:05:34,334 --> 01:05:36,369 and decided that she was dead, 979 01:05:36,469 --> 01:05:38,705 and then he left her there, 980 01:05:38,805 --> 01:05:41,541 which was problematic from our perspective, 981 01:05:41,641 --> 01:05:45,145 because the medical examiner had opined that 982 01:05:45,245 --> 01:05:48,481 she would have lived 3 to 5 minutes 983 01:05:48,581 --> 01:05:50,917 after being shot. 984 01:05:51,084 --> 01:05:53,620 - This, said the state, was the murder weapon, 985 01:05:53,720 --> 01:05:57,190 a Remington 870 12-gauge shotgun, 986 01:05:57,290 --> 01:05:59,926 as determined by a forensic scientist 987 01:06:00,026 --> 01:06:03,063 with a nationally accredited state investigative agency, 988 01:06:03,163 --> 01:06:04,831 the BCA. 989 01:06:04,931 --> 01:06:06,900 She said that because she had to analyze 990 01:06:07,033 --> 01:06:11,037 seven 12-gauge shotguns found in Chris's home and shop, 991 01:06:11,137 --> 01:06:13,540 on this specific one, she first did a test 992 01:06:13,640 --> 01:06:16,710 with just two shells, not the usual 3 or 4. 993 01:06:16,810 --> 01:06:19,212 - Based on those two first test fires, 994 01:06:19,312 --> 01:06:22,582 it was not immediately apparent that... 995 01:06:22,682 --> 01:06:27,053 that the 12-gauge shotgun... was the gun. 996 01:06:27,087 --> 01:06:29,356 - In fact, she indicated in her notes 997 01:06:29,456 --> 01:06:32,125 it might not be the murder weapon. 998 01:06:32,225 --> 01:06:36,062 She then went back and performed additional test fires, 999 01:06:36,096 --> 01:06:38,798 um, to see what she could find out. 1000 01:06:38,898 --> 01:06:41,368 And it became obvious that that was, 1001 01:06:41,468 --> 01:06:43,503 in fact, um, 1002 01:06:43,603 --> 01:06:46,072 the firearm that had fired the two shot shells 1003 01:06:46,139 --> 01:06:47,974 that were found at the scene, 1004 01:06:48,074 --> 01:06:51,344 - All part of the testing protocol, Hoefert said, 1005 01:06:51,444 --> 01:06:54,314 given all the weapons she had to process. 1006 01:06:54,414 --> 01:06:58,551 - Forensic scientists don't complete tests, uh, with a goal 1007 01:06:58,651 --> 01:07:02,522 of convicting or acquitting any specific person. 1008 01:07:02,622 --> 01:07:05,825 And so the conclusion which was reached, 1009 01:07:05,925 --> 01:07:09,129 and the only conclusion has to be verified 1010 01:07:09,229 --> 01:07:12,699 by other scientists there at the BCA. 1011 01:07:12,799 --> 01:07:14,601 - And it was. 1012 01:07:14,701 --> 01:07:17,437 So this was the murder weapon, he told jurors. 1013 01:07:17,537 --> 01:07:19,706 And it had been found just a minute's drive away 1014 01:07:19,806 --> 01:07:23,076 in Chris's shop, where he must have put it 1015 01:07:23,176 --> 01:07:26,079 before calling 911. 1016 01:07:26,179 --> 01:07:28,648 - The shotgun was found in a way 1017 01:07:28,748 --> 01:07:32,385 that it was propped up against the wall, 1018 01:07:32,485 --> 01:07:35,455 and it was the only shotgun in the house or the shop 1019 01:07:35,555 --> 01:07:38,558 which was not put away or in a case. 1020 01:07:38,658 --> 01:07:41,127 - But why would Chris do it? 1021 01:07:41,227 --> 01:07:45,598 Why would he kill the only woman he had ever loved? 1022 01:07:45,699 --> 01:07:47,567 Maybe, said the prosecutor, 1023 01:07:47,667 --> 01:07:50,904 maybe it was this Spider Lake Resort. 1024 01:07:51,071 --> 01:07:52,505 The dream he could not let go, 1025 01:07:52,605 --> 01:07:54,741 and she said they could not afford, 1026 01:07:54,841 --> 01:07:57,377 even if they sold all they owned. 1027 01:07:57,477 --> 01:08:00,480 - Sell his house, sell his shop, 1028 01:08:00,580 --> 01:08:02,182 sell his business, 1029 01:08:02,282 --> 01:08:06,219 cash out retirement accounts, um, you name it. 1030 01:08:06,319 --> 01:08:09,356 - But about 36 hours before the shooting, 1031 01:08:09,456 --> 01:08:12,525 Chris alone presented another offer. 1032 01:08:12,625 --> 01:08:15,462 It was much more than the $550,000 1033 01:08:15,562 --> 01:08:17,430 Jan and Chris thought they could offer 1034 01:08:17,530 --> 01:08:19,833 if they sold everything. 1035 01:08:19,933 --> 01:08:22,135 In fact, Chris's last offer 1036 01:08:22,235 --> 01:08:25,538 was $150,000 more than that, 1037 01:08:25,638 --> 01:08:28,041 which just happened to be the amount of insurance 1038 01:08:28,074 --> 01:08:29,709 on Jan's life. 1039 01:08:29,809 --> 01:08:31,911 - The defense admitted in their opening statement 1040 01:08:32,045 --> 01:08:34,347 that Mr. Kruse had, in fact, 1041 01:08:34,447 --> 01:08:39,052 offered $700,000 for the purchase of this resort, 1042 01:08:39,152 --> 01:08:41,654 which I found to be important because 1043 01:08:41,755 --> 01:08:45,058 Mr. Kruse had previously denied under oath 1044 01:08:45,125 --> 01:08:47,794 ever making that offer. 1045 01:08:47,894 --> 01:08:50,063 - And then there was the secret, he said, 1046 01:08:50,163 --> 01:08:52,699 that secret Bailey entrusted to Jeremy, 1047 01:08:52,799 --> 01:08:54,601 the secret he'd spilled to investigators 1048 01:08:54,701 --> 01:08:56,870 and testified about at trial. 1049 01:08:56,970 --> 01:09:00,540 - That, uh, her parents were fighting more than ever, 1050 01:09:00,640 --> 01:09:04,110 that she had heard the word divorce being thrown around, 1051 01:09:04,210 --> 01:09:06,846 and that she had asked him not to tell the police. 1052 01:09:07,013 --> 01:09:10,216 - But there was something very unusual about this trial. 1053 01:09:10,316 --> 01:09:13,253 Almost everyone in the spectator's gallery 1054 01:09:13,353 --> 01:09:15,021 supported Chris, 1055 01:09:15,088 --> 01:09:18,491 believed fervently that he was innocent, 1056 01:09:18,591 --> 01:09:22,729 including witnesses like Jan's sister Kay. 1057 01:09:22,829 --> 01:09:24,431 - At grand jury, she indicated that 1058 01:09:24,531 --> 01:09:27,233 the marriage between Mr. Kruse and Jan 1059 01:09:27,334 --> 01:09:29,502 was not overly affectionate. 1060 01:09:29,602 --> 01:09:32,539 At trial, she testified that it was affectionate. 1061 01:09:32,639 --> 01:09:34,040 - And when Bailey, up on the stand, 1062 01:09:34,140 --> 01:09:36,576 was asked about the secret Jeremy revealed... 1063 01:09:36,676 --> 01:09:40,113 - She indicated that her parents arguing would not be something 1064 01:09:40,213 --> 01:09:42,916 that a 15-year-old would pay attention to, 1065 01:09:43,049 --> 01:09:46,386 and so she denied that that had occurred. 1066 01:09:46,486 --> 01:09:48,154 - But Bailey did confirm 1067 01:09:48,254 --> 01:09:50,056 that even though she's a heavy sleeper, 1068 01:09:50,156 --> 01:09:54,060 and hard of hearing, and slept without her hearing aids, 1069 01:09:54,127 --> 01:09:56,963 she definitely heard two gunshots. 1070 01:09:57,063 --> 01:09:59,799 She told the jury, "A gunshot is pretty loud. 1071 01:09:59,899 --> 01:10:03,636 "You'd have to be on the other side of town to not hear it." 1072 01:10:03,737 --> 01:10:07,007 So Prosecutor Hoefert was confident. 1073 01:10:07,107 --> 01:10:08,141 But... 1074 01:10:08,241 --> 01:10:11,544 - Anytime you have a case where... 1075 01:10:11,644 --> 01:10:15,482 the family of the victim does not want it to be prosecuted, 1076 01:10:15,582 --> 01:10:18,385 and they maintained from 1077 01:10:18,485 --> 01:10:21,454 the morning of the murder that Mr. Kruse, um, 1078 01:10:21,554 --> 01:10:23,723 could not have been involved in this case. 1079 01:10:23,823 --> 01:10:26,459 That was a concern of ours. 1080 01:10:26,559 --> 01:10:29,362 - Was it something the jury could see as well? 1081 01:10:29,462 --> 01:10:32,432 * 1082 01:10:32,532 --> 01:10:34,134 - Coming up... 1083 01:10:34,234 --> 01:10:37,504 the defense says investigators rushed to judgment. 1084 01:10:37,604 --> 01:10:39,272 - From the beginning, they had one suspect. 1085 01:10:39,372 --> 01:10:40,473 It was Chris. 1086 01:10:40,573 --> 01:10:43,109 - Why would you murder someone you were going to... 1087 01:10:43,209 --> 01:10:44,377 start a resort with? 1088 01:10:44,477 --> 01:10:46,146 Now he's going to start the resort by himself? 1089 01:10:46,246 --> 01:10:49,349 - It never, to me, was a sound motive of what took place. 1090 01:10:49,449 --> 01:10:51,951 - So who did they say the killer could be? 1091 01:10:52,052 --> 01:10:53,453 - Jeremy Majerus. 1092 01:11:00,427 --> 01:11:06,700 * 1093 01:11:07,334 --> 01:11:09,069 - They were a confident pair, 1094 01:11:09,102 --> 01:11:11,471 the lawyers who came to defend Chris Kruse, 1095 01:11:11,571 --> 01:11:13,840 despite never before defending anyone charged 1096 01:11:13,940 --> 01:11:15,675 with first degree murder, 1097 01:11:15,775 --> 01:11:18,111 Tom Hagen and Steven Groschen. 1098 01:11:18,211 --> 01:11:21,314 Their biggest objection to the state's case? 1099 01:11:21,414 --> 01:11:23,550 Two words, they said. 1100 01:11:23,650 --> 01:11:25,085 Tunnel vision. 1101 01:11:25,151 --> 01:11:26,920 - From the beginning, they had one suspect. 1102 01:11:27,087 --> 01:11:28,788 It was Chris. 1103 01:11:28,888 --> 01:11:30,690 I don't think that they looked any further. 1104 01:11:30,790 --> 01:11:31,958 And what they did is, 1105 01:11:32,092 --> 01:11:34,828 they used the fact that he was trying to be helpful, 1106 01:11:34,928 --> 01:11:37,864 trying to push them to give more information, 1107 01:11:37,964 --> 01:11:39,866 to give more facts. 1108 01:11:39,966 --> 01:11:41,101 And Chris was just trying to-- 1109 01:11:41,134 --> 01:11:42,736 to fill in the blanks as he went, 1110 01:11:42,836 --> 01:11:44,904 you know, trying to remember what happened, 1111 01:11:45,005 --> 01:11:46,706 trying to piece everything together. 1112 01:11:46,806 --> 01:11:50,643 - Besides, they said, Chris was not so inconsistent 1113 01:11:50,744 --> 01:11:53,313 during his many hours of police interviews. 1114 01:11:53,413 --> 01:11:54,881 - In my opinion, the foundation 1115 01:11:54,981 --> 01:11:56,649 of what took place remained the same. 1116 01:11:56,750 --> 01:11:58,351 It was it was approximately the same story. 1117 01:11:58,451 --> 01:12:00,053 He was in bed, he heard a shot, 1118 01:12:00,153 --> 01:12:03,056 he popped up, um, and from there, 1119 01:12:03,089 --> 01:12:04,491 then he went and grabbed his phone. 1120 01:12:04,591 --> 01:12:06,159 That portion never changed. 1121 01:12:06,259 --> 01:12:10,196 - And of course, anyone's story could change a little, 1122 01:12:10,296 --> 01:12:11,664 given... 1123 01:12:11,765 --> 01:12:14,100 - From a dead sleep, you get woken up by gunshots, 1124 01:12:14,200 --> 01:12:17,671 and you look over and you see your wife is bleeding. 1125 01:12:17,771 --> 01:12:21,441 I think it's reasonable to believe the fact 1126 01:12:21,541 --> 01:12:23,309 that you're not going to remember everything clearly. 1127 01:12:23,410 --> 01:12:25,311 I mean, the memory is a... - Yeah. 1128 01:12:25,412 --> 01:12:26,713 it's an amazing thing. 1129 01:12:26,813 --> 01:12:28,815 But I think one thing that everybody's found out 1130 01:12:28,915 --> 01:12:30,784 is that it doesn't remember everything the same 1131 01:12:30,884 --> 01:12:32,252 every time you talk about it. 1132 01:12:32,352 --> 01:12:33,953 - How do you explain how he didn't hear 1133 01:12:34,087 --> 01:12:36,556 or see or find any evidence 1134 01:12:36,656 --> 01:12:38,658 of an intruder in the house? 1135 01:12:38,758 --> 01:12:43,229 - It's a small home, and it wouldn't take somebody, 1136 01:12:43,329 --> 01:12:45,098 you know, more than just a second 1137 01:12:45,165 --> 01:12:46,099 to get out of that house, 1138 01:12:46,166 --> 01:12:48,101 and to hop in the car and to take off. 1139 01:12:48,134 --> 01:12:50,337 - Even the forensics were off, 1140 01:12:50,437 --> 01:12:53,006 they said, like, the string that was 1141 01:12:53,106 --> 01:12:56,376 put up to calculate the path of the first bullet. 1142 01:12:56,476 --> 01:12:59,112 - If you saw the photograph that actually has a dip 1143 01:12:59,212 --> 01:13:01,247 in the string, they didn't pull the string taut 1144 01:13:01,348 --> 01:13:03,216 when they were doing the measurements. 1145 01:13:03,316 --> 01:13:05,185 - Which, to the defense expert, 1146 01:13:05,285 --> 01:13:06,619 meant this. 1147 01:13:06,720 --> 01:13:09,055 - There's room in the bed for two people, 1148 01:13:09,155 --> 01:13:12,058 and that first shot to miss. Is there a ton of room? 1149 01:13:12,092 --> 01:13:14,094 No, be upfront about that. 1150 01:13:14,194 --> 01:13:16,563 But there was room for the shot to miss him. 1151 01:13:16,663 --> 01:13:18,798 And that's the testimony we brought out at trial. 1152 01:13:18,898 --> 01:13:21,668 - Why would he not have had more blood on him? 1153 01:13:21,768 --> 01:13:24,671 - My opinion is after he heard the shots, 1154 01:13:24,771 --> 01:13:26,539 he got of the bed fairly quickly. 1155 01:13:26,639 --> 01:13:29,542 And as for Chris hearing only one shot, 1156 01:13:29,642 --> 01:13:31,911 when there were two? - He thinks that first shot's 1157 01:13:32,078 --> 01:13:34,814 the one that woke him up. He doesn't recall hearing it, 1158 01:13:34,914 --> 01:13:36,116 you know? But he certainly recalls 1159 01:13:36,216 --> 01:13:38,718 hearing that second shot. - When he called 911, 1160 01:13:38,818 --> 01:13:41,221 why didn't he go back, and tend to his wife, 1161 01:13:41,321 --> 01:13:45,225 and see how she was, and try to do... CPR? 1162 01:13:45,325 --> 01:13:47,327 She was probably alive for a few minutes. 1163 01:13:47,427 --> 01:13:48,895 - And I think that's one of his regrets, 1164 01:13:48,995 --> 01:13:50,497 is that he didn't go back and do more. 1165 01:13:50,597 --> 01:13:52,098 But I think his attention turned quickly 1166 01:13:52,132 --> 01:13:54,267 to his daughter, who's downstairs, 1167 01:13:54,367 --> 01:13:56,136 and trying to figure out if anybody's in the house 1168 01:13:56,236 --> 01:13:58,238 to make sure that his daughter's fine. 1169 01:13:58,338 --> 01:14:00,340 And I think he realized fairly quickly, 1170 01:14:00,440 --> 01:14:03,143 with all the blood, that it was a fatal wound. 1171 01:14:03,243 --> 01:14:05,245 - Chris' lawyers fought the evidence 1172 01:14:05,345 --> 01:14:08,048 that Chris' own shotgun was the murder weapon. 1173 01:14:08,148 --> 01:14:11,051 They emphasized the state expert first thought it wasn't, 1174 01:14:11,151 --> 01:14:12,819 before concluding after more tests 1175 01:14:12,919 --> 01:14:15,121 that it definitely was. 1176 01:14:15,221 --> 01:14:17,824 But that seemed pretty subjective, 1177 01:14:17,924 --> 01:14:19,192 they told the jury. 1178 01:14:19,292 --> 01:14:21,194 - Our expert, who was very credentialed, 1179 01:14:21,294 --> 01:14:22,562 had reviewed the evidence. 1180 01:14:22,662 --> 01:14:24,931 He concluded the answer was inconclusive, 1181 01:14:25,065 --> 01:14:27,534 meaning you can't say "This isn't the gun." 1182 01:14:27,634 --> 01:14:29,969 You can't say, "This is the gun." 1183 01:14:30,070 --> 01:14:31,838 * 1184 01:14:31,938 --> 01:14:33,673 - And the lawyers strongly challenged 1185 01:14:33,773 --> 01:14:36,776 the prosecutors claim that after shooting Jan, 1186 01:14:36,876 --> 01:14:39,979 Chris quickly drove the gun to a shop before calling 911. 1187 01:14:41,414 --> 01:14:43,350 They were critical of the investigators, 1188 01:14:43,450 --> 01:14:45,552 saying they should have gone back to Bailey 1189 01:14:45,652 --> 01:14:49,389 to confirm the time she said she heard the shotgun blasts. 1190 01:14:49,489 --> 01:14:51,891 What Bailey stated was it happened 1191 01:14:51,991 --> 01:14:53,960 around approximately 2:30. 1192 01:14:54,094 --> 01:14:55,228 Law enforcement never cleaned up 1193 01:14:55,328 --> 01:14:56,796 what time it took place. 1194 01:14:56,896 --> 01:14:59,099 They never came back and said, "Was it closer to 2:30? 1195 01:14:59,165 --> 01:15:00,767 "Was it closer to 2:40?" 1196 01:15:00,867 --> 01:15:01,935 - During the trial, 1197 01:15:02,035 --> 01:15:03,603 four-and-a-half years after the shooting, 1198 01:15:03,703 --> 01:15:06,639 under cross-examination by her father's lawyer, 1199 01:15:06,740 --> 01:15:09,509 Bailey agreed she probably heard those shots 1200 01:15:09,609 --> 01:15:12,679 closer to 2:38 AM. 1201 01:15:12,779 --> 01:15:17,183 Remember, Chris' 911 call was at 2:39. 1202 01:15:17,283 --> 01:15:20,153 - So there's really not this 8 to 9 minute block. 1203 01:15:20,253 --> 01:15:22,055 It was the timeline, the timeline, the timeline. 1204 01:15:22,122 --> 01:15:23,523 I mean, it was tight. 1205 01:15:23,623 --> 01:15:26,426 - And, really, was a resort at Spider Lake 1206 01:15:26,526 --> 01:15:29,062 such a huge issue, such a motive. 1207 01:15:29,129 --> 01:15:31,765 - Why would you murder someone you were going to 1208 01:15:31,865 --> 01:15:32,966 start a resort with? 1209 01:15:33,066 --> 01:15:34,834 Now he's going to start the resort by himself? 1210 01:15:34,934 --> 01:15:38,171 - It never to me was a sound motive of what took place, 1211 01:15:38,271 --> 01:15:40,840 because the reality of it was, is he needed Jan 1212 01:15:40,940 --> 01:15:42,909 to run the resort with him. 1213 01:15:43,076 --> 01:15:44,444 And of course, they didn't have to present 1214 01:15:44,544 --> 01:15:46,646 a possible alternate suspect, 1215 01:15:46,746 --> 01:15:48,615 but they did. 1216 01:15:48,715 --> 01:15:49,749 There's another person here 1217 01:15:49,849 --> 01:15:52,085 that could have done this, and it's Jeremy Majerus. 1218 01:15:52,185 --> 01:15:55,355 - Jeremy Majerus, who by the time of the trial 1219 01:15:55,455 --> 01:15:58,925 was still with Bailey, was her boyfriend. 1220 01:15:59,092 --> 01:16:01,695 And yet the defense went there, 1221 01:16:01,795 --> 01:16:05,331 said "Maybe Jeremy did it." 1222 01:16:05,432 --> 01:16:08,635 Why would Jeremy want to kill Jan? 1223 01:16:08,735 --> 01:16:10,904 Part of the motive would have been Bailey 1224 01:16:11,037 --> 01:16:15,075 leaving town and moving up north for the cabin, 1225 01:16:15,175 --> 01:16:18,211 and then she would have less interaction with Jeremy. 1226 01:16:18,311 --> 01:16:19,412 And I'll be the first to tell you. 1227 01:16:19,512 --> 01:16:22,182 Do I think it's a strong motive? No I don't. 1228 01:16:22,282 --> 01:16:23,783 Does it make more sense than Chris'? 1229 01:16:23,883 --> 01:16:25,652 In some ways, it actually does, 1230 01:16:25,752 --> 01:16:28,922 because I can see him becoming the jealous boyfriend, 1231 01:16:29,055 --> 01:16:32,258 and he perceives this cabin as a dream 1232 01:16:32,359 --> 01:16:33,660 that Chris is pushing through. 1233 01:16:33,760 --> 01:16:36,896 "If I remove Chris, then... 1234 01:16:37,063 --> 01:16:38,765 "this will no longer happen." 1235 01:16:38,865 --> 01:16:42,669 And Jeremy would have never been trying to kill Jan. 1236 01:16:42,769 --> 01:16:44,337 That would have been an accident. 1237 01:16:44,437 --> 01:16:46,840 - What's more, Jeremy was on the record 1238 01:16:46,940 --> 01:16:48,942 lying to investigators. 1239 01:16:49,075 --> 01:16:51,077 His story changed. It was never consistent. 1240 01:16:51,177 --> 01:16:52,579 It never made sense. 1241 01:16:52,679 --> 01:16:54,080 And that's the part that I think 1242 01:16:54,147 --> 01:16:57,083 was the big red flag for us. 1243 01:16:57,183 --> 01:17:00,020 - Jeremy eventually admitted he did drive to Brewster 1244 01:17:00,053 --> 01:17:04,090 after the shooting, he said, after Bailey texted him. 1245 01:17:04,190 --> 01:17:06,026 "But what if he actually got there earlier?" 1246 01:17:06,126 --> 01:17:07,694 suggested the defense attorneys. 1247 01:17:07,794 --> 01:17:11,264 Got in through that broken basement window, ran upstairs, 1248 01:17:11,364 --> 01:17:13,033 aimed to kill Chris, 1249 01:17:13,099 --> 01:17:17,170 but missed and hit Jan before running out the back door. 1250 01:17:17,270 --> 01:17:19,472 The theory, however, was problematic. 1251 01:17:19,572 --> 01:17:23,910 Police had looked hard, at Jeremy and ruled him out, 1252 01:17:24,044 --> 01:17:25,278 and... 1253 01:17:25,378 --> 01:17:27,147 Bailey didn't think Jeremy did it either. 1254 01:17:27,247 --> 01:17:28,148 - That's correct. 1255 01:17:28,248 --> 01:17:30,250 - That must have been extremely awkward. 1256 01:17:30,350 --> 01:17:33,086 - She was in a bad predicament either way. 1257 01:17:33,186 --> 01:17:35,822 On one hand, she has her father up for murder 1258 01:17:35,922 --> 01:17:39,325 and the other hand you have us lawyers saying, 1259 01:17:39,426 --> 01:17:40,460 you know, 1260 01:17:40,560 --> 01:17:41,861 there's as much evidence or more evidence 1261 01:17:41,961 --> 01:17:44,531 that Jeremy committed this murder than your dad did. 1262 01:17:44,631 --> 01:17:47,267 And she was in a no-win situation. 1263 01:17:47,367 --> 01:17:50,837 - What was an attentive jury to think about that? 1264 01:17:53,707 --> 01:17:54,774 - Coming up... 1265 01:17:54,874 --> 01:17:56,343 - If that doesn't speak volumes. 1266 01:17:56,443 --> 01:17:58,745 I don't know what does. - The verdict. 1267 01:17:58,845 --> 01:18:00,447 It wasn't easy. 1268 01:18:00,547 --> 01:18:02,148 - One guy was not going to give up. 1269 01:18:02,248 --> 01:18:04,784 And the judge said, there is no hung jury. 1270 01:18:04,884 --> 01:18:07,587 You will keep at this until you're done. 1271 01:18:07,687 --> 01:18:10,023 - And Chris Kruse speaks. 1272 01:18:10,090 --> 01:18:11,358 - I miss everything. 1273 01:18:11,458 --> 01:18:14,794 I miss her smile, and the sound of her voice. 1274 01:18:22,335 --> 01:18:28,074 * 1275 01:18:28,675 --> 01:18:30,910 - The courtroom was crowded. 1276 01:18:31,044 --> 01:18:33,380 - I sat through every day of that trial. 1277 01:18:33,480 --> 01:18:35,949 - Every available seat filled, 1278 01:18:36,049 --> 01:18:38,685 mainly by family and friends of the victim, 1279 01:18:38,785 --> 01:18:40,687 and all were here to support the man 1280 01:18:40,787 --> 01:18:42,555 accused of killing her. 1281 01:18:42,655 --> 01:18:44,457 Why was that so important to you? 1282 01:18:44,557 --> 01:18:45,859 To support Chris? 1283 01:18:45,959 --> 01:18:49,929 - He is innocent. I never doubted that. 1284 01:18:50,063 --> 01:18:50,797 - Hmm. 1285 01:18:50,897 --> 01:18:54,100 - He's... He's my brother in-law. 1286 01:18:54,200 --> 01:18:57,671 I mean, we've known him longer than the 20 years they dated 1287 01:18:57,771 --> 01:18:59,572 for several years before that, and-- 1288 01:18:59,673 --> 01:19:01,641 - Sure. 1289 01:19:01,741 --> 01:19:04,010 - That's family. 1290 01:19:04,077 --> 01:19:07,714 - It's unusual for everybody in the family to support 1291 01:19:07,814 --> 01:19:11,017 the person who is accused of killing your sister. 1292 01:19:11,051 --> 01:19:12,819 - I think that says a lot right-- 1293 01:19:12,919 --> 01:19:15,822 and I think that says a lot right there. 1294 01:19:15,922 --> 01:19:17,891 - Would it make a difference? 1295 01:19:18,024 --> 01:19:19,392 At 3:10 PM, 1296 01:19:19,492 --> 01:19:22,662 on the ninth day of the trial, the jury left the courtroom. 1297 01:19:24,431 --> 01:19:26,833 Alex McGraw was the foreperson. 1298 01:19:26,933 --> 01:19:29,803 - Throughout the whole trial, to see the support 1299 01:19:29,903 --> 01:19:34,341 from Jan's side of the family, for Chris, was very telling. 1300 01:19:34,441 --> 01:19:37,477 And we found out that he lived with Jan's parents 1301 01:19:37,577 --> 01:19:39,112 for a full year 1302 01:19:39,212 --> 01:19:40,580 after this happened. So if that doesn't 1303 01:19:40,680 --> 01:19:43,116 speak volumes, I don't know what does. 1304 01:19:43,216 --> 01:19:46,119 - Right away, Alex took a poll. 1305 01:19:46,219 --> 01:19:48,321 - I think there was like 5 or 6 of us right away 1306 01:19:48,421 --> 01:19:50,423 that were "not guilty." 1307 01:19:50,523 --> 01:19:52,325 And there was 2 or 3 undecideds, 1308 01:19:52,425 --> 01:19:54,561 and the rest were firm that they-- that he-- 1309 01:19:54,661 --> 01:19:56,563 that he did it, that he was guilty. 1310 01:19:56,663 --> 01:20:00,200 - So then, line by line, they debated the evidence, 1311 01:20:00,300 --> 01:20:02,869 even performed a sort of reenactment 1312 01:20:02,969 --> 01:20:05,305 said juror Amber [indistinct], 1313 01:20:05,405 --> 01:20:07,941 minus the actual bullets, of course. 1314 01:20:08,041 --> 01:20:12,312 - We actually reenacted the scene on the tables. 1315 01:20:12,412 --> 01:20:15,181 We pushed them all together, and we took the pillows, 1316 01:20:15,281 --> 01:20:17,984 and we had two people on the bed. 1317 01:20:18,084 --> 01:20:21,221 - But after hours of talk and debate, 1318 01:20:21,321 --> 01:20:24,557 it looked like it was going to be a hung jury. 1319 01:20:24,657 --> 01:20:26,459 - One guy was not gonna give up, 1320 01:20:26,559 --> 01:20:29,095 and the judge said, "There is no hung jury. 1321 01:20:29,195 --> 01:20:31,931 "You will keep at this until you're done." 1322 01:20:32,032 --> 01:20:34,534 It went quickly after that, 1323 01:20:34,634 --> 01:20:37,370 and finally, end of the second day, 1324 01:20:37,470 --> 01:20:39,339 they reentered the courtroom. 1325 01:20:39,439 --> 01:20:40,874 - And that was nerve wracking. 1326 01:20:40,974 --> 01:20:42,475 We prayed for the best, 1327 01:20:42,575 --> 01:20:44,811 and we knew the truth, that it wasn't Chris. 1328 01:20:44,911 --> 01:20:46,379 - And the jury... 1329 01:20:46,479 --> 01:20:50,216 found Chris Kruse not guilty. 1330 01:20:50,316 --> 01:20:52,752 - I was actually kind of surprised at how much 1331 01:20:52,852 --> 01:20:56,756 they were lacking in full proof evidence. 1332 01:20:56,856 --> 01:20:59,025 - And when they said not guilty? 1333 01:20:59,125 --> 01:21:00,894 - I remember Bonnie, like, squealing. 1334 01:21:01,061 --> 01:21:03,129 - It was-- it was absolutely wonderful, 1335 01:21:03,229 --> 01:21:06,332 because I just, I mean, we were all just cheering 1336 01:21:06,433 --> 01:21:08,935 and-and hugging each other. 1337 01:21:09,069 --> 01:21:11,104 - All the weight of the world was off my shoulders. 1338 01:21:11,204 --> 01:21:13,406 - I think I hugged everybody in that courtroom 1339 01:21:13,506 --> 01:21:16,509 before I got out of there. 1340 01:21:16,609 --> 01:21:18,211 - Including the man from whom 1341 01:21:18,311 --> 01:21:22,148 the clouds were suddenly lifted, Chris Kruse. 1342 01:21:22,248 --> 01:21:24,684 - You know, I-- you-- you can't-- 1343 01:21:24,784 --> 01:21:28,321 I don't know how to put that into words. 1344 01:21:28,421 --> 01:21:31,591 - It's hard finding words for things sometimes. 1345 01:21:31,691 --> 01:21:33,193 - Yeah. 1346 01:21:33,293 --> 01:21:36,096 - What have the last five years been like for you? 1347 01:21:36,196 --> 01:21:38,832 - It's been a real rough five years. 1348 01:21:38,932 --> 01:21:42,736 Unimaginable. 1349 01:21:42,836 --> 01:21:45,372 - And now, finally, he could face his family, 1350 01:21:45,472 --> 01:21:47,907 and the world, as an innocent man. 1351 01:21:48,008 --> 01:21:49,843 Vindicated. 1352 01:21:49,943 --> 01:21:52,278 Except... after the verdict, 1353 01:21:52,379 --> 01:21:55,215 the county attorney issued a statement saying 1354 01:21:55,315 --> 01:21:56,883 while they respected the jury's verdict, 1355 01:21:56,983 --> 01:21:58,218 they firmly believed, 1356 01:21:58,318 --> 01:22:00,653 after a long and thorough investigation, 1357 01:22:00,754 --> 01:22:04,758 that Chris did indeed kill his wife. 1358 01:22:04,858 --> 01:22:06,926 - As of this point, there are no other suspects, 1359 01:22:07,060 --> 01:22:08,595 and there are no other leads 1360 01:22:08,695 --> 01:22:13,099 in the investigation of-of Jan's murder. 1361 01:22:13,199 --> 01:22:16,903 - Not even Bailey's boyfriend, Jeremy Majerus? 1362 01:22:17,070 --> 01:22:19,906 Just no, said the prosecutor. 1363 01:22:20,073 --> 01:22:23,710 - He is someone who was concerned 1364 01:22:23,810 --> 01:22:26,546 about confessing to texting while driving. 1365 01:22:26,646 --> 01:22:29,149 Trying to make Jeremy Majerus the perpetrator here 1366 01:22:29,249 --> 01:22:32,318 is like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. 1367 01:22:32,419 --> 01:22:34,621 - Even the defense attorney who pointed the finger 1368 01:22:34,721 --> 01:22:38,091 at Jeremy, didn't here with us. 1369 01:22:38,158 --> 01:22:41,194 - I'm not going to insinuate or say that, you know, 1370 01:22:41,294 --> 01:22:42,228 Jeremy did this. 1371 01:22:42,328 --> 01:22:44,831 I mean, I'm not going to do that. 1372 01:22:44,931 --> 01:22:48,868 - So where does it all leave Chris Kruse? 1373 01:22:48,968 --> 01:22:51,871 Not in a very good place. 1374 01:22:51,971 --> 01:22:54,307 - I'm frustrated. 1375 01:22:54,407 --> 01:22:57,444 These days, I'm mad now. 1376 01:22:57,544 --> 01:23:00,513 The way this was handled, it's upsetting to hear 1377 01:23:00,613 --> 01:23:03,950 the prosecutors can say the jury was wrong. 1378 01:23:04,050 --> 01:23:06,052 They made the wrong decision. 1379 01:23:06,119 --> 01:23:07,854 Chris is the guy. 1380 01:23:07,954 --> 01:23:10,256 I don't know how they can say that. 1381 01:23:10,357 --> 01:23:13,259 I don't feel they put any effort into this. 1382 01:23:13,360 --> 01:23:15,528 * 1383 01:23:15,628 --> 01:23:16,596 - So now in the family, 1384 01:23:16,696 --> 01:23:19,699 a question hangs in the air like a bad smell. 1385 01:23:19,799 --> 01:23:22,369 - I would like to talk to Jeremy, yeah. 1386 01:23:22,469 --> 01:23:24,571 - What would you ask him? What would you say to him? 1387 01:23:24,671 --> 01:23:26,573 - Like, to know what-- why he said the stuff about me 1388 01:23:26,673 --> 01:23:28,308 that he did, I-- 1389 01:23:28,408 --> 01:23:31,311 Yeah, I got lots of questions. 1390 01:23:33,079 --> 01:23:34,848 - When we last spoke, Chris told us 1391 01:23:34,948 --> 01:23:37,217 that he and his family believe Jan's murder 1392 01:23:37,317 --> 01:23:39,519 deserves further investigation. 1393 01:23:39,619 --> 01:23:42,155 And they would continue to seek justice for Jan. 1394 01:23:44,090 --> 01:23:46,960 Jan, whom they all remember lovingly, 1395 01:23:47,093 --> 01:23:50,096 even as they cannot help but be angry at the people 1396 01:23:50,196 --> 01:23:53,700 who accused Chris of killing her. 1397 01:23:53,800 --> 01:23:56,469 - My sister loved her husband, 1398 01:23:56,569 --> 01:24:00,407 and we should never have had to go through that trial ever. 1399 01:24:00,507 --> 01:24:02,809 There was no-- no grounds for that. 1400 01:24:02,909 --> 01:24:04,511 And had they done their job and looked at the facts 1401 01:24:04,611 --> 01:24:06,579 in front of them, we would have never been 1402 01:24:06,680 --> 01:24:08,948 in that courtroom for that reason. 1403 01:24:09,049 --> 01:24:12,185 To make matters worse, to put us all through this... 1404 01:24:13,853 --> 01:24:15,922 how this could be. 1405 01:24:16,056 --> 01:24:19,459 - Now, there are only memories. 1406 01:24:19,559 --> 01:24:23,496 - I miss everything. 1407 01:24:23,596 --> 01:24:27,334 I miss watching her get ready for work in the morning. 1408 01:24:27,434 --> 01:24:29,169 I miss my... 1409 01:24:29,269 --> 01:24:31,338 have a good day kiss, and... 1410 01:24:33,606 --> 01:24:36,076 "Hey, honey," when I come home from work, 1411 01:24:36,176 --> 01:24:38,278 Miss her smile, and... 1412 01:24:38,378 --> 01:24:41,481 the sound of her voice. 1413 01:24:41,581 --> 01:24:43,249 Jan was the best. 1414 01:24:43,350 --> 01:24:46,786 * 1415 01:24:46,886 --> 01:24:49,255 - And Spider Lake resort? 1416 01:24:49,356 --> 01:24:53,193 That magical place they'd hoped to own someday? 1417 01:24:53,293 --> 01:24:55,862 Did you ever go back to Spider Lake? 1418 01:24:55,962 --> 01:24:57,397 - Yeah. 1419 01:24:57,497 --> 01:24:59,599 I go back every year. Yeah. 1420 01:24:59,699 --> 01:25:01,735 We take our vacation in June. 1421 01:25:01,835 --> 01:25:04,037 I go back in September. 1422 01:25:04,104 --> 01:25:08,041 Jan's birthday's the 24th of September. 1423 01:25:08,074 --> 01:25:11,277 She loved her birthday. 1424 01:25:11,378 --> 01:25:14,748 - And so, in a way, he still takes her with him 1425 01:25:14,848 --> 01:25:18,385 out here on Spider Lake. 1426 01:25:22,689 --> 01:25:23,857 - That's all for this edition 1427 01:25:23,957 --> 01:25:26,092 of "Dateline: Secrets Uncovered." 1428 01:25:26,192 --> 01:25:28,828 I'm Kate Snow. Thank you for watching.