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   ♪                            

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   ♪♪                           

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-A husband does                 
the unthinkable.                

4
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   -I was told, "Your father    
   shot your mother."           

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   I still don't know           
   how to take that.            

6
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 -There were glaring questions  

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 that we needed to get          
  answers to.                   

8
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-Was this death                 
   a fatal agreement?           

9
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 -In his mind,                  

10
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 he's someone who gave          
 his life in exchange for hers. 

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 -Or is it cold-blooded murder  
 disguised as a mercy killing?  

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 -They feared for their lives.  

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   They thought he would come   
  and hunt them down.           

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  -He was overwhelmed.          

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 He was just gonna take matters 
  into his own hands.           

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  [ Gunshot ]                   

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-In the end, you can't go around
  playing God.                  

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   ♪♪                           

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   ♪♪                           

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   ♪♪                           

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 [ Line rings ]                 

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  -On March 27, 2017,           
there was a call to 911         

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about a shooting outside        
of a memory care center.        

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   The caller calmly reported   
what he had done                

25
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and was relatively unemotional. 

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 The caller is                  
  62-year-old Stephen Kruspe.   

27
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The victim was his wife,        
61-year-old Pam Kruspe.         

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   ♪♪                           

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   -Given the bizarre nature    
  of the call,                  

30
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  detectives approach           
  the scene with a mix          

31
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of curiosity and dread.         

32
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   -When that call came out,    
   my mindset was, you know,    

33
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 "This is not possible.         

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   Someone's just not calling   
   to say, 'I just did this.'   

35
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This could be a prank."         

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 As I'm driving along,          

37
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  the dispatchers were          
  giving us additional details  

38
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 that made me realize,          
  "Oh, this is actually real.   

39
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  This person is still          
 on the phone."                 

40
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 -At one point,                 
   he's talking to her still,   

41
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as if she's still alive.        

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   It was almost like he was    
   in some kind of disbelief.   

43
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  -As we approached Parkside,   

44
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it's an assisted-living facility

45
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 and it is pretty much the only 
physical building on that block.

46
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We're expecting                 
   some sort of chaos           

47
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because we're responding        
 to a shooting.                 

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  When we approached,           
we saw nothing.                 

49
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   The parking lot was empty,   

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 so that even added to          
 our confusion.                 

51
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So, we're communicating         
on a radio with our dispatchers,

52
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 asking, "Hey, have the person  
  come out to the parking lot   

53
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  so we can see them."          

54
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  Officers are looking for him  

55
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and then dispatchers were still 
 trying to get him to come out, 

56
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  but he was hesitant.          

57
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   Once he actually listened,   
he came out to the parking lot. 

58
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   When we laid eyes on him,    

59
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 we didn't see                  
  a typical homicidal maniac.   

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We just saw an older man        
  who does not appear           

61
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that he can hurt a fly,         
   just walking out.            

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  He was not agitated,          
 you know, he looked a bit sad, 

63
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  but he was quite cooperative  
  at the time.                  

64
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 Once we put handcuffs on him,  
 we asked him,                  

65
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 "Okay, where's the gun         
and where's your wife?"         

66
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And he told us,                 

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   "She's in the back           
 of the building by the patio." 

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   ♪♪                           

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  Lo and behold, we found her   
  on the ground in the grass,   

70
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  just a few feet away          
 from the actual patio.         

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 We did not see                 
 a bloody murder scene.         

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  All we saw was a lady laying  
   there on her back            

73
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with a very small wound         
 on her chest.                  

74
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 She was shot.                  

75
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-It was at close range.         

76
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 There were not multiple shots  

77
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 and there was                  
 very little blood for someone  

78
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 who was shot to death          
 in the heart.                  

79
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   It looks like it was done    
   by someone                   

80
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  who really knew what          
  he was doing                  

81
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   and wanted to end            
  her life right away.          

82
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  This was no ordinary          
  perpetrator,                  

83
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  this was a marksman,          

84
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   this was someone who knew    
where exactly to shoot.         

85
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   -As we looked at the body,   

86
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 there's nothing about the body 

87
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 that suggested                 
 any kind of struggle.          

88
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   No scratch marks,            
  no defensive wound.           

89
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  We did find the gun           
  with five additional rounds   

90
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  in the magazine and the gun   
 was already made safe          

91
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   and placed on a half wall    
 at the patio.                  

92
00:05:43,042 --> 00:05:44,344
 -It's clear to police          

93
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 Stephen Kruspe                 
 isn't trying to hide.          

94
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  His straightforward           
 and thoughtful cooperation is  

95
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 in stark contrast to the crime 
  before them.                  

96
00:05:51,250 --> 00:05:55,421
  But he is clear this wasn't   
   a struggle or an accident.   

97
00:05:55,488 --> 00:05:57,290
   It was a request.            

98
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-He said, "I just shot my wife. 

99
00:05:59,759 --> 00:06:01,994
She asked me to do it."         

100
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 We were in disbelief,          

101
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   and she's not here           
 to actually speak for herself. 

102
00:06:05,531 --> 00:06:08,101
The way I looked at it,         
automatically, I'm like,        

103
00:06:08,167 --> 00:06:10,903
 "This is a homicide,"          
 and we had the person          

104
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 who did it in custody.         

105
00:06:13,039 --> 00:06:16,709
It may appear that okay, yes, he
was doing something to help her,

106
00:06:16,776 --> 00:06:18,611
 but ultimately he is a killer. 

107
00:06:18,678 --> 00:06:23,683
  You killed your wife          
  and it is, in fact, a crime.  

108
00:06:26,052 --> 00:06:29,322
  -The night of the incident,   
   I was 37.                    

109
00:06:29,389 --> 00:06:31,090
   My sister called and said,   

110
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"You need to get down to        
Parkside," and I was like, "Why?

111
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   What's going on?"            
   "There's been an incident.   

112
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   I can't tell you.            
Get down there.                 

113
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You got to go."                 

114
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   "O...kay."                   

115
00:06:43,136 --> 00:06:47,306
 My mom was at Parkside         
assisted-living facility        

116
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 for about two to three months  
 at this point.                 

117
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   I honestly thought, like,    
  my mom had injured herself.   

118
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 She was diagnosed with         
 frontal temporal lobe dementia 

119
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   a little more than a year    
 before this happened.          

120
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  It's a very aggressive form   
  of Alzheimer's and at night,  

121
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a lot of times,                 
  my mom would get aggressive   

122
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   and so I figured this may    
have been one of those incidents

123
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  and they just needed          
somebody else down there        

124
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 to help control the situation. 

125
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  I get there                   
  and there's cops everywhere.  

126
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   This is a little more than   
 just my mom being aggressive.  

127
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 And I remember walking         
 up to the scene and there was  

128
00:07:33,886 --> 00:07:36,956
 a police officer there         
 and he was like, "Who are you? 

129
00:07:37,023 --> 00:07:38,558
Can I help you?"                

130
00:07:38,624 --> 00:07:40,359
"Uh, my name is Matthew Kruspe. 

131
00:07:40,426 --> 00:07:42,628
My father and mother are here," 

132
00:07:42,695 --> 00:07:46,699
and, uh,                        
  a detective came towards me.  

133
00:07:46,766 --> 00:07:49,335
He goes, "Um, I need --         
  I need to inform you          

134
00:07:49,402 --> 00:07:52,238
 that your mother's deceased,"  
and he was like,                

135
00:07:52,305 --> 00:07:54,974
 "Um, your father shot          
 your mother."                  

136
00:07:55,041 --> 00:08:02,348
   ♪♪                           

137
00:08:02,415 --> 00:08:06,552
  I didn't -- I-I-I--           

138
00:08:06,619 --> 00:08:08,955
   I still don't know           
   how to take that.            

139
00:08:10,957 --> 00:08:14,560
  My mom was a huge influence   
  in my life.                   

140
00:08:14,627 --> 00:08:18,264
She was honestly                
the strongest woman that I know.

141
00:08:18,331 --> 00:08:21,200
  My initial reaction is like,  
 "You've got to be kidding me.  

142
00:08:21,267 --> 00:08:23,269
 Like, what happened?"          

143
00:08:26,138 --> 00:08:30,776
   My mom and dad met           
at a Marine Corps ball in 1974. 

144
00:08:30,843 --> 00:08:33,813
 -She was working as a civilian 
  at a Navy contractor          

145
00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:36,115
   and he was in the Marines    
guarding                        

146
00:08:36,182 --> 00:08:38,518
  Arlington National Cemetery.  

147
00:08:38,584 --> 00:08:40,419
He was willing to dance         

148
00:08:40,486 --> 00:08:41,888
  when none of the other guys   
 were willing to dance          

149
00:08:41,954 --> 00:08:43,656
   and they danced together.    

150
00:08:43,723 --> 00:08:48,361
 -One of their favorite things  
 to do was swing dance          

151
00:08:48,427 --> 00:08:49,829
  and they could move.          

152
00:08:49,896 --> 00:08:51,264
 They could --                  
They could really, really move. 

153
00:08:51,330 --> 00:08:53,699
 -Pam and Steve                 
complemented each other.        

154
00:08:53,766 --> 00:08:56,836
  They were two sides           
 of each other's heart.         

155
00:08:56,903 --> 00:08:58,604
  They always were thoughtful   

156
00:08:58,671 --> 00:09:01,774
  and respectful about          
what each other thought and felt

157
00:09:01,841 --> 00:09:04,911
and they didn't operate         
unless it was together.         

158
00:09:04,977 --> 00:09:06,846
   [ Camera shutter clicks ]    

159
00:09:06,913 --> 00:09:08,681
   -They got married in 1976    

160
00:09:08,748 --> 00:09:11,150
  and they had three children   
 in four years.                 

161
00:09:11,217 --> 00:09:13,519
 Andrew was the oldest          
   and then Stephanie           

162
00:09:13,586 --> 00:09:14,987
  and then Matthew was          
 the youngest.                  

163
00:09:15,054 --> 00:09:17,423
  He was born in 1980.          

164
00:09:17,490 --> 00:09:21,460
   -The children were always    
  respectful, happy, playful,   

165
00:09:21,527 --> 00:09:26,399
 fun, curious and just          
delightful, delightful children.

166
00:09:26,465 --> 00:09:28,634
-My parents were married        
 for 47 years,                  

167
00:09:28,701 --> 00:09:30,703
   but the first half           
of my childhood,                

168
00:09:30,770 --> 00:09:32,204
my dad was always gone.         

169
00:09:32,271 --> 00:09:33,839
   You know,                    
he was in the military.         

170
00:09:33,906 --> 00:09:35,508
He was constantly deployed here 
   or there,                    

171
00:09:35,575 --> 00:09:37,743
   come home for a few months   
   and leave.                   

172
00:09:37,810 --> 00:09:39,378
  -Stationed in North Carolina  

173
00:09:39,445 --> 00:09:41,380
   as part of Special           
  Warfare Operations,           

174
00:09:41,447 --> 00:09:44,817
  Steve's mission was to train  
   America's elite soldiers,    

175
00:09:44,884 --> 00:09:48,254
  Navy SEALs and Green Berets.  

176
00:09:48,321 --> 00:09:49,755
  -A lot of the stuff he does,  

177
00:09:49,822 --> 00:09:51,824
  I don't know                  
 and probably never will know.  

178
00:09:51,891 --> 00:09:56,028
   But when he was deployed,    
   my mother was God.           

179
00:09:56,095 --> 00:09:57,830
 She had to be the head         
   of the household.            

180
00:09:57,897 --> 00:09:59,298
 She had to be                  
  the disciplinarian.           

181
00:09:59,365 --> 00:10:01,000
But she also was my mom.        

182
00:10:01,067 --> 00:10:04,737
So she had this loving, caring, 
nurturing side of that.         

183
00:10:04,804 --> 00:10:08,341
   -In 1994, Stephen retires    
   from the Marines.            

184
00:10:08,407 --> 00:10:10,509
   After settling his family    
  in Florida,                   

185
00:10:10,576 --> 00:10:12,411
  he devotes his time           
   to the classroom,            

186
00:10:12,478 --> 00:10:15,615
 training high school students  
 through ROTC.                  

187
00:10:15,681 --> 00:10:17,350
  But by 2001,                  

188
00:10:17,416 --> 00:10:21,454
  retirement leads him          
 to an unexpected new passion.  

189
00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:24,490
 -When he retired from          
  the military after 23 years,  

190
00:10:24,557 --> 00:10:26,926
 he became a lighthouse keeper  

191
00:10:26,993 --> 00:10:30,262
and Pam would go                
  and help him there.           

192
00:10:30,329 --> 00:10:32,665
-My parents were married        
  for 47 years                  

193
00:10:32,732 --> 00:10:36,969
   and they just gave me the    
 best example of what it means  

194
00:10:37,036 --> 00:10:38,904
  to truly love someone else.   

195
00:10:38,971 --> 00:10:41,040
  You know, the selflessness,   
 you know what I mean?          

196
00:10:41,107 --> 00:10:45,111
 The sacrifices for each other  
and you could see that.         

197
00:10:48,581 --> 00:10:50,416
 And now I have                 
  a police officer telling me   

198
00:10:50,483 --> 00:10:53,219
 that my father shot my mother. 

199
00:10:53,285 --> 00:10:56,288
 I was pissed.                  
  I was angry.                  

200
00:10:56,355 --> 00:10:59,659
 I was trying to push back that 
 cop to go in the back          

201
00:10:59,725 --> 00:11:02,261
 to find out what was going on. 

202
00:11:02,328 --> 00:11:06,432
And my wife is standing         
  to my -- to my right          

203
00:11:06,499 --> 00:11:11,070
   and she sees my dad being    
 escorted in handcuffs.         

204
00:11:11,137 --> 00:11:12,938
   I didn't see him.            

205
00:11:13,005 --> 00:11:14,640
   Had I saw him that night,    

206
00:11:14,707 --> 00:11:18,277
   I would have probably been   
in jail myself.                 

207
00:11:18,344 --> 00:11:19,679
I would have went after         
   my father.                   

208
00:11:19,745 --> 00:11:21,447
I was --                        
I was enraged, you know,        

209
00:11:21,514 --> 00:11:26,285
because I was just told         
   that he killed my mother.    

210
00:11:26,352 --> 00:11:28,788
   Come to find out,            
   like we saw later,           

211
00:11:28,854 --> 00:11:35,094
   that just wasn't clear cut   
   as it -- as it should be.    

212
00:11:35,161 --> 00:11:36,729
  -No other family member said  

213
00:11:36,796 --> 00:11:40,266
that Pam Kruspe                 
   wanted to commit suicide.    

214
00:11:44,336 --> 00:11:47,440
   Pam wanting to die           
 was perhaps a creation         

215
00:11:47,506 --> 00:11:49,642
   in Stephen Kruspe's mind.    

216
00:11:59,985 --> 00:12:00,052
   ♪                            

217
00:12:00,052 --> 00:12:04,590
   ♪♪                           

218
00:12:04,657 --> 00:12:07,693
  -Matthew Kruspe and his two   
siblings are looking for answers

219
00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:09,462
  after learning their father,  
Stephen,                        

220
00:12:09,528 --> 00:12:13,833
   is responsible for           
the death of their mother, Pam. 

221
00:12:13,899 --> 00:12:16,469
   -My sister, she --           
  she arrived at the facility.  

222
00:12:16,535 --> 00:12:19,205
 My brother didn't come         
  till later.                   

223
00:12:19,271 --> 00:12:20,940
 We were just kind of in shock. 

224
00:12:21,006 --> 00:12:24,677
  We didn't really understand   
   what was going on.           

225
00:12:27,146 --> 00:12:29,048
   -Within a couple of hours    
 of the crime,                  

226
00:12:29,115 --> 00:12:32,084
 Stephen Kruspe is taken to the 
Boynton Beach Police Department,

227
00:12:32,151 --> 00:12:33,819
where he's interrogated.        

228
00:12:38,858 --> 00:12:41,393
 When they asked Stephen Kruspe 
   if he was hurting,           

229
00:12:41,460 --> 00:12:46,031
he said it was his heart        
  and that really will get you  

230
00:12:46,098 --> 00:12:48,801
  because here's a person who,  
by all accounts,                

231
00:12:48,868 --> 00:12:50,503
 loved his wife dearly.         

232
00:12:50,569 --> 00:12:52,972
   Police, meanwhile,           
  who are sympathetic to him,   

233
00:12:53,038 --> 00:12:54,840
 are still trying to drill down 

234
00:12:54,907 --> 00:12:57,710
   whether this was the crime   
 out of compassion for his wife 

235
00:12:57,777 --> 00:13:00,513
   or a crime of convenience.   

236
00:13:37,149 --> 00:13:40,553
-Stephen told the detective that
 Pam started forgetting things  

237
00:13:40,619 --> 00:13:42,755
  and getting agitated          
   about four years earlier.    

238
00:13:42,822 --> 00:13:45,958
The simplest tasks were         
   just overwhelming to her.    

239
00:13:58,270 --> 00:14:02,775
  -She noticed she was having   
issues at work with the numbers 

240
00:14:02,842 --> 00:14:05,110
   and I just thought           
  that was kind of odd          

241
00:14:05,177 --> 00:14:08,347
  because numbers were          
   always her thing.            

242
00:14:22,862 --> 00:14:25,464
-She had been diagnosed         
  with early onset Alzheimer's  

243
00:14:25,531 --> 00:14:28,267
   at, like, age 59,            
 which is really, really rare.  

244
00:14:28,334 --> 00:14:31,403
   -A lot of things,            

245
00:14:31,470 --> 00:14:37,009
 rapidly, that she loved to do, 
she could no longer do anymore. 

246
00:14:37,076 --> 00:14:40,346
 She could brush her own teeth, 
but I had to remind her.        

247
00:14:42,948 --> 00:14:46,185
   She could eat on her own,    
but I had to remind her.        

248
00:14:50,089 --> 00:14:52,358
 This strongest woman I know... 

249
00:14:52,424 --> 00:14:58,898
   ♪♪                           

250
00:14:58,964 --> 00:15:03,302
 ...and in this moment, she's,  
 you know, reduced to a child.  

251
00:15:07,106 --> 00:15:10,142
 -There were times when         
 it became sometimes combative  

252
00:15:10,209 --> 00:15:12,044
   and even violent.            

253
00:15:25,891 --> 00:15:29,295
 -Sometimes she was very aware  
 and she knew what was going on 

254
00:15:29,361 --> 00:15:31,664
 and then other times,          
 she completely had no control  

255
00:15:31,730 --> 00:15:34,833
and I think that                
   must have been terrifying.   

256
00:15:34,900 --> 00:15:38,137
  -Despite moments of clarity,  
Pam's violent outbursts         

257
00:15:38,203 --> 00:15:41,807
  and refusal to come to terms  
   with her condition           

258
00:15:41,874 --> 00:15:45,511
  leave her family struggling   
 to get her the help she needs. 

259
00:16:00,926 --> 00:16:03,095
-This is not Pam Kruspe         
 they all knew,                 

260
00:16:03,162 --> 00:16:06,365
this was someone                
   in the body of Pam Kruspe    

261
00:16:06,432 --> 00:16:10,836
who mentally was someone        
  entirely different.           

262
00:16:10,903 --> 00:16:14,707
  -They got to a point in 2016  
  where they made a decision,   

263
00:16:14,773 --> 00:16:18,043
as a family, to go ahead and put
 her in a memory care facility, 

264
00:16:18,110 --> 00:16:22,481
but she absolutely hated        
being in that facility.         

265
00:16:22,548 --> 00:16:24,450
   -There were times            
  she thought she was working   

266
00:16:24,516 --> 00:16:27,019
  at the assisted living, that  
 she was there to help people,  

267
00:16:27,086 --> 00:16:28,354
because she just                
   didn't understand she was    

268
00:16:28,420 --> 00:16:30,155
  one of the patients.          

269
00:16:38,964 --> 00:16:41,133
  -Stephen walks investigators  
  through the moments           

270
00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:44,103
leading up to shooting his wife.

271
00:16:48,607 --> 00:16:50,409
 -It was early evening.         

272
00:16:50,476 --> 00:16:52,144
   They went and had a coffee   

273
00:16:52,211 --> 00:16:56,448
 and then he drove her back to  
the facility in the parking lot.

274
00:17:20,572 --> 00:17:22,474
 -The whole time, she's         
 pretty much begging him, like, 

275
00:17:22,541 --> 00:17:24,309
   "If you loved me,            
  you would do this."           

276
00:17:24,376 --> 00:17:28,213
It just was getting more        
  and more and more desperate.  

277
00:17:41,393 --> 00:17:46,899
   -Stephen Kruspe, a Marine,   
 kept a gun in his car.         

278
00:18:11,957 --> 00:18:12,891
-He stood really close.         

279
00:18:12,958 --> 00:18:14,693
  Almost close enough,          

280
00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:17,096
he could have kissed her and he 
held the gun against her chest. 

281
00:18:17,162 --> 00:18:18,797
 -According to Stephen,         

282
00:18:18,864 --> 00:18:20,532
  she seemed to be encouraged   
   by seeing the gun            

283
00:18:20,599 --> 00:18:22,000
   and wanted to die.           

284
00:18:22,067 --> 00:18:24,369
  [ Gunshot ]                   

285
00:18:30,209 --> 00:18:30,275
   ♪                            

286
00:18:30,275 --> 00:18:35,581
   ♪♪                           

287
00:18:35,647 --> 00:18:38,183
 -In an interview room          
   in Boynton Beach, Florida,   

288
00:18:38,250 --> 00:18:40,886
  Stephen Kruspe gives          
  a harrowing account           

289
00:18:40,953 --> 00:18:44,223
of how he helped his wife, Pam, 
 end her life.                  

290
00:18:54,433 --> 00:18:56,268
 -And the gun went off.         

291
00:18:56,335 --> 00:18:58,971
  [ Gunshot ]                   

292
00:18:59,037 --> 00:19:01,039
The bullet went                 
   through her heart.           

293
00:19:19,191 --> 00:19:21,426
 -He explained                  
that when he looked at her face,

294
00:19:21,493 --> 00:19:23,262
 all he saw was relief.         

295
00:19:29,835 --> 00:19:31,503
-He put the onus on her         

296
00:19:31,570 --> 00:19:34,806
that this was a killing         
 because the victim wanted it.  

297
00:19:34,873 --> 00:19:39,011
   He was adamant that it was   
an assisted suicide, not murder.

298
00:19:39,077 --> 00:19:42,314
   He said he did it            
   for compassionate reasons.   

299
00:19:42,381 --> 00:19:45,817
  But even though Stephen said  
that Pam wanted to die,         

300
00:19:45,884 --> 00:19:48,754
   in this situation,           
he said that he did it.         

301
00:19:48,820 --> 00:19:50,789
  He's the one                  
who pulled the trigger.         

302
00:19:50,856 --> 00:19:53,125
 -The state of Florida          
  does not have mercy killing.  

303
00:19:53,192 --> 00:19:54,860
  If you take someone's life,   

304
00:19:54,927 --> 00:19:58,497
regardless of the reason        
you give us, it is still murder.

305
00:19:58,564 --> 00:20:00,399
 -At the end of the interview,  
 he's arrested.                 

306
00:20:00,465 --> 00:20:04,736
He's taken into custody         
and charged with murder.        

307
00:20:04,803 --> 00:20:06,471
As per normal practice,         

308
00:20:06,538 --> 00:20:09,808
  law enforcement did           
 a DNA swab not only of Kruspe, 

309
00:20:09,875 --> 00:20:12,077
  but also of the gun.          

310
00:20:12,144 --> 00:20:13,912
  Stephen told law enforcement  

311
00:20:13,979 --> 00:20:16,348
that he had thought about doing 
  this before,                  

312
00:20:16,415 --> 00:20:21,353
  so this showed premeditation  
and that's first-degree murder. 

313
00:20:21,420 --> 00:20:23,188
 According to the state         
  of Florida,                   

314
00:20:23,255 --> 00:20:25,857
that makes you not only         
  eligible for life in prison   

315
00:20:25,924 --> 00:20:27,793
 but the death penalty.         

316
00:20:30,229 --> 00:20:33,966
  -Stephen Kruspe made          
it clear from the outset        

317
00:20:34,032 --> 00:20:35,968
that he was not guilty of murder

318
00:20:36,034 --> 00:20:40,372
and that the reality was        
that Pam wanted to die.         

319
00:20:40,439 --> 00:20:45,777
She had been asking Steve for a 
long time to help her with that.

320
00:20:45,844 --> 00:20:50,916
 He was hoping                  
that she would change her mind, 

321
00:20:50,983 --> 00:20:54,886
 but he also understood         
 that by having the gun         

322
00:20:54,953 --> 00:20:58,857
that it made it possible        
   for -- for this to happen.   

323
00:20:58,924 --> 00:21:00,959
His only objective and only wish

324
00:21:01,026 --> 00:21:06,598
 was to see this charge         
reflect the truthfulness        

325
00:21:06,665 --> 00:21:08,800
   of what occurred.            

326
00:21:08,867 --> 00:21:10,269
  -As Stephen remains in jail,  

327
00:21:10,335 --> 00:21:12,504
insisting it was                
a mercy killing,                

328
00:21:12,571 --> 00:21:14,806
detectives look                 
  to the three Kruspe children  

329
00:21:14,873 --> 00:21:17,709
  who struggled to comprehend   
 their father's claims          

330
00:21:17,776 --> 00:21:19,678
as they speak to police.        

331
00:21:19,745 --> 00:21:21,346
  -Oh, the kids were in shock.  

332
00:21:21,413 --> 00:21:23,749
 They were kind of in disbelief 
 that this had happened         

333
00:21:23,815 --> 00:21:27,252
and they were disappointed that 
their dad hadn't talked to them 

334
00:21:27,319 --> 00:21:30,489
   or asked for help,           
or let them know how bad it was.

335
00:21:30,555 --> 00:21:32,658
   -I believe                   
 he murdered my mother.         

336
00:21:32,724 --> 00:21:34,660
 I do not want to talk to you.  

337
00:21:34,726 --> 00:21:39,298
 I have nothing                 
 to say to you at all.          

338
00:21:39,364 --> 00:21:42,634
 -Andrew, Stephen's oldest son  
  and Stephanie, his daughter,  

339
00:21:42,701 --> 00:21:46,438
also thought he was a murderer, 
  basically, that they had --   

340
00:21:46,505 --> 00:21:49,141
   He had taken the easy way    
and murdered their mom.         

341
00:22:03,588 --> 00:22:05,691
 They started telling the cops  

342
00:22:05,757 --> 00:22:09,194
that he was overwhelmed         
 by trying to take care of Pam  

343
00:22:09,261 --> 00:22:10,729
 and he wasn't asking for help  

344
00:22:10,796 --> 00:22:13,932
   and he could have            
asked for help.                 

345
00:22:24,309 --> 00:22:26,178
   They said that he was one    
of these people                 

346
00:22:26,244 --> 00:22:29,848
who had such hubris about being 
able to take care of everything 

347
00:22:29,915 --> 00:22:31,683
  and fix it,                   

348
00:22:31,750 --> 00:22:35,654
 that he was just going to take 
  matters into his own hands.   

349
00:22:35,721 --> 00:22:37,889
-One key detail                 
  Stephen gave police           

350
00:22:37,956 --> 00:22:41,126
   is firmly rejected           
by his children.                

351
00:22:41,193 --> 00:22:42,761
  -No other family member said  

352
00:22:42,828 --> 00:22:47,599
that Pam Kruspe                 
   wanted to commit suicide.    

353
00:22:47,666 --> 00:22:49,167
   -I knew she was declining,   

354
00:22:49,234 --> 00:22:51,203
 but she had very lucid moments 
with us.                        

355
00:22:51,269 --> 00:22:53,638
 She would never flat out say,  
"I want to kill myself.         

356
00:22:53,705 --> 00:22:55,107
I want to die."                 

357
00:22:57,309 --> 00:22:59,644
  -Also Pam Kruspe was          
very religious.                 

358
00:22:59,711 --> 00:23:01,780
  She converted to Catholicism  

359
00:23:01,847 --> 00:23:05,217
and so suicide would be         
 a real no-no.                  

360
00:23:05,283 --> 00:23:07,586
-In the Catholic Church,        
   if you take your own life,   

361
00:23:07,652 --> 00:23:09,755
   you're, you know,            
   eternally damned.            

362
00:23:09,821 --> 00:23:13,392
  -And that's                   
   why her family and others    

363
00:23:13,458 --> 00:23:15,761
thought                         
 that the whole wanting to die  

364
00:23:15,827 --> 00:23:20,065
 was perhaps a creation         
   in Stephen Kruspe's mind.    

365
00:23:22,534 --> 00:23:24,136
-On April 10th,                 

366
00:23:24,202 --> 00:23:26,605
less than a month after         
Pam Kruspe was shot and killed, 

367
00:23:26,671 --> 00:23:30,642
 her husband, Stephen, appears  
 in court for his arraignment.  

368
00:23:30,709 --> 00:23:32,110
 -We announced                  
  that we were seeking          

369
00:23:32,177 --> 00:23:34,012
  first-degree murder charges.  

370
00:23:34,079 --> 00:23:38,784
 We also said that we would not 
 be seeking the death penalty.  

371
00:23:38,850 --> 00:23:40,552
As prosecutors,                 
we're human beings, too,        

372
00:23:40,619 --> 00:23:43,922
  and we're sympathetic to the  
  fact that he was a caregiver  

373
00:23:43,989 --> 00:23:45,690
 and he loved his wife.         

374
00:23:45,757 --> 00:23:49,828
But in the end,                 
you can't go around playing God.

375
00:23:49,895 --> 00:23:53,999
-Stephen pled not guilty        
and said                        

376
00:23:54,065 --> 00:23:56,835
 that this was                  
not premeditated murder.        

377
00:23:56,902 --> 00:23:58,970
   -Stephen and Pam's           
 youngest son, Matthew,         

378
00:23:59,037 --> 00:24:02,607
   finds that as time passes    
 following Pam's death,         

379
00:24:02,674 --> 00:24:06,011
 he begins to see more          
 of his father's side.          

380
00:24:06,077 --> 00:24:07,712
  -It took me                   
about a month and a half        

381
00:24:07,779 --> 00:24:10,649
 after the incident took place. 

382
00:24:10,715 --> 00:24:13,952
   I had gotten over my anger   

383
00:24:14,019 --> 00:24:15,821
 and I just started to process, 
   you know,                    

384
00:24:15,887 --> 00:24:18,990
 what was my mom going through, 
 what was my dad going through? 

385
00:24:19,057 --> 00:24:21,693
   Do I agree of what he did?   

386
00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:24,429
  No, absolutely not.           

387
00:24:24,496 --> 00:24:26,932
Of course I didn't agree        
with it,                        

388
00:24:26,998 --> 00:24:28,967
 but I understood why.          

389
00:24:31,136 --> 00:24:33,772
   My dad's a fixer.            

390
00:24:33,839 --> 00:24:38,376
If something's wrong, he's gonna
   figure out why and fix it.   

391
00:24:38,443 --> 00:24:42,647
And the one thing he couldn't do

392
00:24:42,714 --> 00:24:48,520
   and would have never been    
 able to do...                  

393
00:24:48,587 --> 00:24:50,088
   is fix my mother.            

394
00:24:52,924 --> 00:24:55,393
  I didn't know a lot           

395
00:24:55,460 --> 00:25:01,766
of what my dad was going through
 at this time.                  

396
00:25:01,833 --> 00:25:05,370
 Um, a little bit of me         
 feels guilty.                  

397
00:25:05,437 --> 00:25:08,206
   I was there for my mother,   

398
00:25:08,273 --> 00:25:11,543
 but I was not involved         
  in a lot of her care          

399
00:25:11,610 --> 00:25:15,347
 and I could have been          
   there maybe a little more.   

400
00:25:18,683 --> 00:25:22,020
 If my mom was                  
truly aware of what was going on

401
00:25:22,087 --> 00:25:24,022
 and I believe she was,         

402
00:25:24,089 --> 00:25:26,725
   my mom didn't want to live   
   like this                    

403
00:25:26,791 --> 00:25:31,696
 and I think they both          
   had a hand in it.            

404
00:25:31,763 --> 00:25:33,365
 -This change of heart          
  is welcomed                   

405
00:25:33,431 --> 00:25:35,066
   by Stephen's defense team,   

406
00:25:35,133 --> 00:25:38,570
   who are gearing up           
 for an arduous battle.         

407
00:25:38,637 --> 00:25:41,540
-As we started defending        
 the case, it was clear         

408
00:25:41,606 --> 00:25:45,277
  that the police felt          
 it was an open and shut case.  

409
00:25:45,343 --> 00:25:47,078
  As a result of that,          

410
00:25:47,145 --> 00:25:51,082
they didn't examine and evaluate
everything that should have been

411
00:25:51,149 --> 00:25:52,651
and there were glaring questions

412
00:25:52,717 --> 00:25:55,720
 that we needed to get          
  answers to.                   

413
00:25:55,787 --> 00:25:58,423
 The big question was,          
was there reason                

414
00:25:58,490 --> 00:26:02,193
   to suspect                   
that this was possibly a suicide

415
00:26:02,260 --> 00:26:05,330
   as opposed to a homicide?    

416
00:26:05,397 --> 00:26:08,199
And was there more investigation

417
00:26:08,266 --> 00:26:12,804
 that needed to be done         
 to uncover the truth?          

418
00:26:18,777 --> 00:26:18,843
   ♪                            

419
00:26:18,843 --> 00:26:23,481
   ♪♪                           

420
00:26:23,548 --> 00:26:25,450
 -Accused of killing his wife,  
  Pam,                          

421
00:26:25,517 --> 00:26:27,552
 Stephen Kruspe                 
   watches from jail            

422
00:26:27,619 --> 00:26:33,191
 as his case stalls for months, 
  then years.                   

423
00:26:33,258 --> 00:26:34,826
   -Because it's a homicide,    

424
00:26:34,893 --> 00:26:38,029
 these court cases take         
   a very long time.            

425
00:26:38,096 --> 00:26:40,665
  And the fact                  
  that COVID happened           

426
00:26:40,732 --> 00:26:42,867
delayed the process even longer.

427
00:26:42,934 --> 00:26:44,903
 So, he was in jail, in prison, 

428
00:26:44,970 --> 00:26:47,639
 awaiting trial                 
for quite a bit of time.        

429
00:26:47,706 --> 00:26:50,141
   -While both sides wait for   
  their day in court,           

430
00:26:50,208 --> 00:26:53,311
the Kruspe siblings work        
   on finding common ground,    

431
00:26:53,378 --> 00:26:55,213
   despite their differences.   

432
00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:56,815
 -Me and my brother and sister, 

433
00:26:56,881 --> 00:26:59,884
  for about two or three years  
  after the incident,           

434
00:26:59,951 --> 00:27:02,320
 we still had a good standing,  
   good relationship.           

435
00:27:02,387 --> 00:27:04,723
   I, at this point,            
   supported my dad.            

436
00:27:04,789 --> 00:27:07,359
 They -- They supported         
 my mom's side.                 

437
00:27:07,425 --> 00:27:09,894
  But we still talked           
 because we made an agreement.  

438
00:27:09,961 --> 00:27:11,396
We said,                        

439
00:27:11,463 --> 00:27:13,031
  "Hey, let's not let           
this destroy us                 

440
00:27:13,098 --> 00:27:15,200
   because it really            
  doesn't involve us.           

441
00:27:15,266 --> 00:27:19,004
 So, let's let                  
 the courts handle this         

442
00:27:19,070 --> 00:27:23,775
   and let's not let            
  this ruin our relationship."  

443
00:27:23,842 --> 00:27:26,277
-Three years pass until in 2020,

444
00:27:26,344 --> 00:27:30,615
 the family prepares to meet in 
court again for a bond hearing. 

445
00:27:30,682 --> 00:27:35,120
 -In Florida, the court         
 has discretion to grant bond.  

446
00:27:35,186 --> 00:27:41,593
 We took a considerable amount  
of time to build a defense case,

447
00:27:41,660 --> 00:27:43,561
 to say                         
   that he should get a bond,   

448
00:27:43,628 --> 00:27:48,833
so that he can be at home and we
 can finish preparing the case. 

449
00:27:48,900 --> 00:27:54,372
 We had witnesses from          
  all walks of life, military,  

450
00:27:54,439 --> 00:27:57,742
  people that knew him          
in his personal life and family,

451
00:27:57,809 --> 00:28:00,512
   Matthew, who had prepared    
   a bedroom for him            

452
00:28:00,578 --> 00:28:03,014
  and a place to stay.          

453
00:28:03,081 --> 00:28:04,516
 -Everything was fine.          

454
00:28:04,582 --> 00:28:07,886
 A week or two before my dad's  
 bond hearing,                  

455
00:28:07,952 --> 00:28:12,223
   that was the moment things   
  and people shifted.           

456
00:28:12,290 --> 00:28:14,926
 I get a call from my brother.  

457
00:28:14,993 --> 00:28:16,761
"What do you know about         
   this bond hearing?           

458
00:28:16,828 --> 00:28:19,164
  What about the bond hearing?  
Did you know about it?"         

459
00:28:19,230 --> 00:28:22,333
 "Yes, I did."                  
"Why didn't you tell any of us?"

460
00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:23,902
"I thought we made an agreement 

461
00:28:23,968 --> 00:28:26,037
to let the courts handle        
  the courts."                  

462
00:28:26,104 --> 00:28:28,273
He was like, "Yeah, but         
 this is a little more serious. 

463
00:28:28,339 --> 00:28:29,874
 Are you thinking about taking  
him in?"                        

464
00:28:29,941 --> 00:28:32,210
And I was like,                 
"Yeah, if it goes down."        

465
00:28:32,277 --> 00:28:35,714
 And then we 3-way'd my         
 sister in and it just got more 

466
00:28:35,780 --> 00:28:37,048
   and more and more.           

467
00:28:37,115 --> 00:28:38,349
You know, they said some things,

468
00:28:38,416 --> 00:28:39,584
"I can't believe you're,        
   you know,                    

469
00:28:39,651 --> 00:28:42,921
 you would take in a murderer." 

470
00:28:42,987 --> 00:28:45,824
-The tensions between the family
 come to a head                 

471
00:28:45,890 --> 00:28:47,559
   on the day of the hearing.   

472
00:28:47,625 --> 00:28:49,694
 -About six months after COVID  
 shut everything down,          

473
00:28:49,761 --> 00:28:53,164
 he finally got a bond hearing  
  in September of 2020          

474
00:28:53,231 --> 00:28:55,967
   and everybody in the court   
  were masked.                  

475
00:28:56,034 --> 00:28:59,070
  -All three siblings testify   
  at the bond hearing,          

476
00:28:59,137 --> 00:29:02,240
Matthew for the defense         
and Andrew and Stephanie        

477
00:29:02,307 --> 00:29:04,242
on the side of the prosecution. 

478
00:29:04,309 --> 00:29:07,812
-This was a split family        
 and this was something         

479
00:29:07,879 --> 00:29:13,084
  that really weighed           
 on those who loved Pam Kruspe. 

480
00:29:16,855 --> 00:29:18,556
   -Stephanie basically told    
   the judge                    

481
00:29:18,623 --> 00:29:20,158
 that she didn't trust her dad. 

482
00:29:23,895 --> 00:29:26,965
There was no way, after         
 what he had done with the mom, 

483
00:29:27,031 --> 00:29:28,767
 that she could believe in him. 

484
00:29:28,833 --> 00:29:30,502
 He had sacrificed their trust. 

485
00:29:36,274 --> 00:29:37,575
-My brother and sister,         

486
00:29:37,642 --> 00:29:39,377
 they called him narcissistic,  

487
00:29:39,444 --> 00:29:43,915
  they called him controlling,  
 unstable, irrational.          

488
00:29:50,822 --> 00:29:52,924
  They feared for their lives.  

489
00:29:52,991 --> 00:29:56,027
 They thought my dad would come 
  and hunt them down.           

490
00:30:04,702 --> 00:30:07,772
They both painted a view I never
  knew they had of my father.   

491
00:30:07,839 --> 00:30:11,342
  But two, one                  
that doesn't exist of my father.

492
00:30:11,409 --> 00:30:13,044
 -Stephen's oldest son, Andrew, 

493
00:30:13,111 --> 00:30:14,846
  was on Zoom                   
  for the bond hearing as well  

494
00:30:14,913 --> 00:30:18,249
  and he was vehement           
  that he'd just stay in jail.  

495
00:30:33,398 --> 00:30:37,802
 -When Andrew appeared remotely 
  at the bond hearing           

496
00:30:37,869 --> 00:30:40,371
   and said,                    
  "I heard my dad say           

497
00:30:40,438 --> 00:30:43,241
 that he wanted to put          
 a round in her chest,"         

498
00:30:43,308 --> 00:30:45,977
 it's really damning, not only  
because it shows premeditation, 

499
00:30:46,044 --> 00:30:47,712
   but it also shows            

500
00:30:47,779 --> 00:30:51,549
  that Stephen Kruspe           
  allegedly had this intention  

501
00:30:51,616 --> 00:30:53,818
 before things got even worse,  

502
00:30:53,885 --> 00:30:58,056
 that he was thinking about it  
  at least a year in advance.   

503
00:30:58,122 --> 00:31:02,393
  -My dad was hurt for a while  
because of my brother and sister

504
00:31:02,460 --> 00:31:05,096
and the things they said        
   during that bond hearing.    

505
00:31:05,163 --> 00:31:07,332
  He still loves them.          
He still cares for them.        

506
00:31:07,398 --> 00:31:09,133
  Don't think that he doesn't,  

507
00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:13,705
 but he's hurt because          
  the words don't line up with  

508
00:31:13,771 --> 00:31:16,107
   how we were raised           
 with what took place.          

509
00:31:16,174 --> 00:31:19,277
  He feels abandoned by them.   

510
00:31:19,344 --> 00:31:21,346
   -When the judge announced    
  her ruling,                   

511
00:31:21,412 --> 00:31:22,914
she denied bond,                

512
00:31:22,981 --> 00:31:25,850
  saying the evidence           
 of premeditated murder         

513
00:31:25,917 --> 00:31:28,953
 was too strong to release him. 

514
00:31:29,020 --> 00:31:31,256
   -He was being put on trial   
  for murder.                   

515
00:31:31,322 --> 00:31:34,058
 What's to say he wouldn't try  
   to kill himself or others,   

516
00:31:34,125 --> 00:31:37,028
especially because he seemingly 
had some sort of Messiah complex

517
00:31:37,095 --> 00:31:39,564
  where he believed in killing  
  other people                  

518
00:31:39,631 --> 00:31:41,399
 for their own benefit.         

519
00:31:41,466 --> 00:31:45,036
  We were there to do justice   
for Pam.                        

520
00:31:45,103 --> 00:31:48,006
This was an unjustified killing,

521
00:31:48,072 --> 00:31:52,277
   a homicide that needed to    
   be punished appropriately    

522
00:31:52,343 --> 00:31:54,312
 and we were not going to stop. 

523
00:31:54,379 --> 00:31:59,884
   ♪♪                           

524
00:32:02,387 --> 00:32:02,453
   ♪                            

525
00:32:02,453 --> 00:32:08,526
   ♪♪                           

526
00:32:08,593 --> 00:32:10,428
  -After a contentious          
 bond hearing,                  

527
00:32:10,495 --> 00:32:13,865
 Stephen Kruspe is denied bond  
and sent back to prison         

528
00:32:13,932 --> 00:32:17,502
 to await trial                 
for the murder of his wife, Pam.

529
00:32:17,568 --> 00:32:19,270
   -Stephen went back to jail   

530
00:32:19,337 --> 00:32:23,174
  and our focus turned          
  on finding the best experts   

531
00:32:23,241 --> 00:32:28,479
 in crime-scene reconstruction  
   and DNA analysis,            

532
00:32:28,546 --> 00:32:30,748
all with the objective to prove 

533
00:32:30,815 --> 00:32:35,520
   that this was an assisted    
   suicide and not a murder.    

534
00:32:35,586 --> 00:32:38,523
  -The defense enlists          
  forensics expert Tiffany Roy  

535
00:32:38,589 --> 00:32:40,258
   to aid their case.           

536
00:32:40,325 --> 00:32:42,393
They ask her to go back         
  over the evidence collected   

537
00:32:42,460 --> 00:32:44,362
  at the time of the incident.  

538
00:32:44,429 --> 00:32:46,664
-The first thing                
   I do in every case           

539
00:32:46,731 --> 00:32:49,767
 when I get the case file notes 
  is to check for human error,  

540
00:32:49,834 --> 00:32:54,038
  because human people do this  
  work and they make mistakes.  

541
00:32:54,105 --> 00:32:56,074
-As we're going through         
 this process,                  

542
00:32:56,140 --> 00:33:00,878
   we found out that Pamela's   
 hands should have been tested  

543
00:33:00,945 --> 00:33:03,081
  for gunshot residue           
 and were not.                  

544
00:33:03,147 --> 00:33:04,649
   -Back at the time,           

545
00:33:04,716 --> 00:33:06,651
 this was such an open          
 and shut case                  

546
00:33:06,718 --> 00:33:10,154
that the medical examiner had no
evidence of GSR,                

547
00:33:10,221 --> 00:33:11,589
gunshot residue.                

548
00:33:11,656 --> 00:33:14,359
This is missing.                
 This data would be important.  

549
00:33:14,425 --> 00:33:16,995
-The presence or absence        
   of gunshot residue           

550
00:33:17,061 --> 00:33:18,763
   on someone's hands           
   might be telling.            

551
00:33:18,830 --> 00:33:21,399
  -If gunshot-residue testing   
 had been done,                 

552
00:33:21,466 --> 00:33:23,134
as it should have been,         

553
00:33:23,201 --> 00:33:28,106
it could have shown that        
  Pam assisted in the suicide.  

554
00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:30,675
   -Seeing this discrepancy,    

555
00:33:30,742 --> 00:33:32,744
the defense strategy is         
  to turn the State's evidence  

556
00:33:32,810 --> 00:33:34,879
  against them                  
  in an effort to show          

557
00:33:34,946 --> 00:33:37,615
that not enough was done        
  to rule out suicide           

558
00:33:37,682 --> 00:33:41,219
  as the cause of Pam's death,  
 starting with the DNA.         

559
00:33:41,285 --> 00:33:42,854
-DNA was important in this case 

560
00:33:42,920 --> 00:33:44,555
  because they tested           
   the murder weapon,           

561
00:33:44,622 --> 00:33:47,392
which was a gun                 
  that was owned by Mr. Kruspe  

562
00:33:47,458 --> 00:33:50,161
  and drew conclusions          
   that Mr. Kruspe's DNA was    

563
00:33:50,228 --> 00:33:52,063
  on his own firearm.           

564
00:33:52,130 --> 00:33:54,832
   But the tools that           
were being used at the crime lab

565
00:33:54,899 --> 00:33:59,971
 can only examine certain parts 
   and pieces of the profile.   

566
00:34:00,038 --> 00:34:02,607
  So there were things          
that were being missed.         

567
00:34:02,673 --> 00:34:04,642
And so,                         
we needed a higher-powered tool 

568
00:34:04,709 --> 00:34:08,413
  to examine that information.  

569
00:34:08,479 --> 00:34:12,784
 -Tiffany helped us do          
 additional testing on samples  

570
00:34:12,850 --> 00:34:15,520
   that law enforcement have.   

571
00:34:15,586 --> 00:34:18,723
  -There were several samples   
after they were examined        

572
00:34:18,790 --> 00:34:20,391
 that showed DNA traits         

573
00:34:20,458 --> 00:34:24,295
that were similar to Mrs. Kruspe
on the firearm.                 

574
00:34:24,362 --> 00:34:29,434
The area where Mrs. Kruspe's DNA
 was most present was the grip  

575
00:34:29,500 --> 00:34:31,102
and that made it                
a very real possibility         

576
00:34:31,169 --> 00:34:33,905
  that she could have handled   
  that weapon.                  

577
00:34:33,971 --> 00:34:35,606
-This was huge,                 

578
00:34:35,673 --> 00:34:38,109
because her contact with the gun
suggests that, in fact,         

579
00:34:38,176 --> 00:34:42,313
  she was involved in           
 the discharging of the weapon. 

580
00:34:44,115 --> 00:34:48,286
-But can the presence of her DNA
 alone prove assisted suicide?  

581
00:34:48,352 --> 00:34:52,190
-We could argue, as prosecutors,
 that she did not want to die.  

582
00:34:52,256 --> 00:34:53,858
 She was trying                 
 to push the gun away.          

583
00:34:53,925 --> 00:34:55,526
-We knew the prosecutor         
 would attempt                  

584
00:34:55,593 --> 00:34:58,329
 to show a pushing away         
  of the gun.                   

585
00:34:58,396 --> 00:35:02,400
 So, we hired an expert         
  on firearms,                  

586
00:35:02,467 --> 00:35:05,937
forensic reconstruction         
  of shootings                  

587
00:35:06,003 --> 00:35:10,241
  and he reconstructed          
  the shooting to see           

588
00:35:10,308 --> 00:35:14,212
   whether or not the wounds    
  to the shirt                  

589
00:35:14,278 --> 00:35:19,283
 and the DNA on the gun         
  were consistent with showing  

590
00:35:19,350 --> 00:35:23,621
   that Pam embraced            
 and pulled the gun toward her. 

591
00:35:25,456 --> 00:35:28,459
  This showed                   
  that Steve did not act alone  

592
00:35:28,526 --> 00:35:32,430
and that Pam very likely        
   assisted in her own death.   

593
00:35:32,497 --> 00:35:36,067
-This stunning evidence suggests
Pamela may have assisted        

594
00:35:36,134 --> 00:35:37,735
  in the shooting that night.   

595
00:35:37,802 --> 00:35:40,605
Stephen never mentioned         
 this detail to anyone,         

596
00:35:40,671 --> 00:35:42,840
 including his                  
 own defense attorney.          

597
00:35:42,907 --> 00:35:45,243
  -I think the reason           
   he didn't mention            

598
00:35:45,309 --> 00:35:49,147
the specific act                
 of pulling the gun toward her  

599
00:35:49,213 --> 00:35:53,851
at the time was that the        
   investigators never asked    

600
00:35:53,918 --> 00:35:56,988
   for the specifics            
  in terms of how it happened.  

601
00:35:57,054 --> 00:36:00,691
   He said he shot his wife.    
 That was uncontested.          

602
00:36:00,758 --> 00:36:04,295
   However, they never asked    
  what Pam did                  

603
00:36:04,362 --> 00:36:06,697
  or what role                  
  she may have played.          

604
00:36:06,764 --> 00:36:09,333
And so,                         
  by not asking the questions,  

605
00:36:09,400 --> 00:36:13,037
the investigation never         
got into that part of the case. 

606
00:36:13,104 --> 00:36:16,307
I also think that often         
under periods of stress,        

607
00:36:16,374 --> 00:36:23,548
people sometimes don't remember 
everything exactly as it happens

608
00:36:23,614 --> 00:36:27,185
  and they oftentimes           
   will fill in gaps            

609
00:36:27,251 --> 00:36:30,321
 or missing information         
with information                

610
00:36:30,388 --> 00:36:33,925
that's most detrimental         
 to themselves.                 

611
00:36:33,991 --> 00:36:37,361
And because of her faith        
 as a strong Catholic,          

612
00:36:37,428 --> 00:36:41,265
   on some level, he believed   
that by not talking about that, 

613
00:36:41,332 --> 00:36:43,968
 he was protecting her          
  in a sense.                   

614
00:36:44,035 --> 00:36:47,505
 -The defense informs Stephen's 
 son Matthew of their findings, 

615
00:36:47,572 --> 00:36:51,309
 which forces him to reconsider 
  his mother's final moments.   

616
00:36:51,375 --> 00:36:53,578
 -There's no other way          
   that my mom's DNA            

617
00:36:53,644 --> 00:36:56,781
could have got on there         
unless she was holding that gun.

618
00:36:56,847 --> 00:37:01,953
After the DNA evidence,         
  what I believe happened is,   

619
00:37:02,019 --> 00:37:06,157
 yes, my father went to the car 
and got the gun.                

620
00:37:06,224 --> 00:37:11,095
  Yes, my father presented it   
 to my mother.                  

621
00:37:11,162 --> 00:37:16,133
At which point, um, my mother...

622
00:37:16,200 --> 00:37:19,103
   [ Sighs ]                    

623
00:37:19,170 --> 00:37:23,574
   I still --                   
   I still battle with this.    

624
00:37:23,641 --> 00:37:26,310
 Like...[sighs]                 

625
00:37:26,377 --> 00:37:28,713
   I believe                    
my mom took her own life        

626
00:37:28,779 --> 00:37:31,882
 and my father did give         
  her the gun.                  

627
00:37:31,949 --> 00:37:35,453
  And when...                   

628
00:37:35,519 --> 00:37:39,323
   when she shot herself, um,   

629
00:37:39,390 --> 00:37:42,960
just all the guilt of it        
came back to my father.         

630
00:37:43,027 --> 00:37:45,529
So, I do believe                
  my dad had a portion in it.   

631
00:37:45,596 --> 00:37:49,066
 I don't think he solely pulled 
  the trigger himself.          

632
00:37:49,133 --> 00:37:51,135
 I think the ultimate decision  

633
00:37:51,202 --> 00:37:55,339
to take my mother's life        
was my mother's.                

634
00:37:56,107 --> 00:37:59,610
 -Faced with the defense's new  
 evidence of assisted suicide,  

635
00:37:59,677 --> 00:38:02,813
  the state's attorney          
needs to rethink their approach.

636
00:38:02,880 --> 00:38:05,783
-This was a game changer        
because we were all set         

637
00:38:05,850 --> 00:38:08,753
to pursue murder charges        
 and when you're a prosecutor,  

638
00:38:08,819 --> 00:38:11,489
you have to prove cases         
   beyond a reasonable doubt.   

639
00:38:11,555 --> 00:38:13,991
The fact                        
that we now had some doubt meant

640
00:38:14,058 --> 00:38:15,793
 that the jury certainly would. 

641
00:38:15,860 --> 00:38:23,534
   ♪♪                           

642
00:38:24,869 --> 00:38:24,935
   ♪                            

643
00:38:24,935 --> 00:38:31,242
   ♪♪                           

644
00:38:31,309 --> 00:38:33,311
   -What seemed like            
 a straightforward murder case  

645
00:38:33,377 --> 00:38:36,213
 against Stephen Kruspe         
  takes a turn                  

646
00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:38,249
  when forensic evidence gives  
the defense room                

647
00:38:38,316 --> 00:38:40,751
to argue it was a mercy killing.

648
00:38:40,818 --> 00:38:43,688
-The defense paid a lot of money
 for an expert,                 

649
00:38:43,754 --> 00:38:50,328
who then revealed that Pam's DNA
was found on the grip of the gun

650
00:38:50,394 --> 00:38:53,297
   and that's why we decided    
  to enter into conversations   

651
00:38:53,364 --> 00:38:56,300
   about lowering the charge.   

652
00:38:56,367 --> 00:38:58,703
  In Florida,                   
 there's a rarely used statute, 

653
00:38:58,769 --> 00:39:02,807
 a manslaughter                 
  by assisted suicide.          

654
00:39:02,873 --> 00:39:06,210
 So, we met the evidence where  
  it was and told the defense   

655
00:39:06,277 --> 00:39:09,213
  that we'd be willing          
   to enter into an agreement   

656
00:39:09,280 --> 00:39:12,850
   where the defendant would    
  plead guilty to manslaughter  

657
00:39:12,917 --> 00:39:14,585
  by assisted suicide           

658
00:39:14,652 --> 00:39:18,289
and would leave it up to        
the judge to do the sentencing. 

659
00:39:18,356 --> 00:39:23,694
 -When Stephen learned          
 of the offer, he was relieved. 

660
00:39:23,761 --> 00:39:26,263
 He felt that finally,          
after six years,                

661
00:39:26,330 --> 00:39:31,068
 we were getting an offer that  
 was consistent with the truth  

662
00:39:31,135 --> 00:39:35,005
and at that time                
 he pled guilty to manslaughter 

663
00:39:35,072 --> 00:39:37,208
  by assisted suicide.          

664
00:39:39,276 --> 00:39:41,145
-In August 2023,                

665
00:39:41,212 --> 00:39:45,716
Stephen finally gets to go back 
to court for sentencing.        

666
00:39:45,783 --> 00:39:47,485
-With no priors,                

667
00:39:47,551 --> 00:39:51,489
 he was eligible for a sentence 
  of between 10 and 30 years.   

668
00:39:52,757 --> 00:39:56,060
 Our case was reinforced by the 
 fact that the family members,  

669
00:39:56,127 --> 00:39:58,529
  at least almost all of them,  
   were on our side.            

670
00:39:58,596 --> 00:40:01,699
 They were the ones who wanted  
 Stephen Kruspe to go to prison 

671
00:40:01,766 --> 00:40:03,234
  as long as possible.          

672
00:40:03,300 --> 00:40:04,602
 They clearly did not like him. 

673
00:40:04,668 --> 00:40:06,437
They hated what he did.         

674
00:40:06,504 --> 00:40:09,440
  They did not forgive him and  
they wanted the maximum penalty.

675
00:40:09,507 --> 00:40:11,208
  -During sentencing,           

676
00:40:11,275 --> 00:40:15,813
 my brother and sister          
 gave victim impact statements. 

677
00:40:15,880 --> 00:40:19,316
   I-I -- A lot of the stuff    
  they said to me was just...   

678
00:40:21,385 --> 00:40:23,888
 ...vindictive.                 

679
00:40:23,954 --> 00:40:25,790
If you viewed my father         
   that way,                    

680
00:40:25,856 --> 00:40:28,025
   then why would you even be   
  around him?                   

681
00:40:28,092 --> 00:40:31,529
 Their words and their actions  
  didn't line up to me          

682
00:40:31,595 --> 00:40:34,532
 and I didn't understand that.  

683
00:40:34,598 --> 00:40:36,267
  -What struck me was           

684
00:40:36,333 --> 00:40:40,738
when Stephen Kruspe voluntarily 
   chose to give a statement    

685
00:40:40,805 --> 00:40:44,241
at sentencing and I was         
 a bit surprised at how defiant 

686
00:40:44,308 --> 00:40:45,810
   and angry he was.            

687
00:40:45,876 --> 00:40:47,745
   -He finally gets to speak    
   in court.                    

688
00:40:47,812 --> 00:40:51,415
   He basically says, "Well,    
where was everybody helping me?"

689
00:40:51,482 --> 00:40:54,618
-The judge, she was not         
unsympathetic to Stephen Kruspe.

690
00:40:54,685 --> 00:40:58,355
 She understood                 
   where he was coming from.    

691
00:40:58,422 --> 00:41:00,090
If the family wasn't so adamant,

692
00:41:00,157 --> 00:41:02,393
if Stephanie and Andrew         
 didn't feel the way they did,  

693
00:41:02,460 --> 00:41:06,464
   then this would have been    
 probably treated differently.  

694
00:41:06,530 --> 00:41:09,967
  In the end,                   
she decided to go for 20 years. 

695
00:41:10,034 --> 00:41:14,138
   ♪♪                           

696
00:41:14,205 --> 00:41:16,807
 -When they came back with 20,  

697
00:41:16,874 --> 00:41:19,810
I was just at a loss for words. 

698
00:41:19,877 --> 00:41:23,814
  It's a life sentence          
for my father. He's old.        

699
00:41:23,881 --> 00:41:25,516
 -In his mind,                  

700
00:41:25,583 --> 00:41:29,186
 he's someone who gave          
 his life in exchange for hers. 

701
00:41:29,253 --> 00:41:30,754
  He's not going to be          
   able to be buried            

702
00:41:30,821 --> 00:41:33,023
at Arlington National Cemetery. 

703
00:41:33,090 --> 00:41:36,460
 His family is                  
  permanently divided.          

704
00:41:36,527 --> 00:41:39,530
-My dad is currently 72.        

705
00:41:39,597 --> 00:41:42,132
 I still go visit him.          

706
00:41:42,199 --> 00:41:44,735
  I talk to him at least once   
  a week on the phone.          

707
00:41:44,802 --> 00:41:48,606
My dad has not spoken to        
 anybody, my brother or sister, 

708
00:41:48,672 --> 00:41:50,741
  since the incident.           

709
00:41:50,808 --> 00:41:53,577
 I have no plans to ever speak  
with my brother or sister again.

710
00:41:53,644 --> 00:41:59,550
   ♪♪                           

711
00:41:59,617 --> 00:42:01,585
   [ Voice breaking ]           
  I miss my mom a lot.          

712
00:42:01,652 --> 00:42:04,688
 Um...                          

713
00:42:04,755 --> 00:42:07,992
 She raised me.                 
She was my best friend.         

714
00:42:11,729 --> 00:42:14,398
 No matter what                 
  I was going through,          

715
00:42:14,465 --> 00:42:19,470
   whenever my mother smiled,   
   I knew it was okay           

716
00:42:19,537 --> 00:42:22,907
   or it would be all right.    

717
00:42:22,973 --> 00:42:25,576
   [ Sighs ]                    

718
00:42:25,643 --> 00:42:29,046
   I just want to see           
her smile one more time.