48 Hours - The Brighton Ax Murder

Episode Date: February 27, 2023

A young mother is killed in her bed, her toddler unharmed. Unsolved for 40 years, how the unusual crime scene helped close the case. "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty reports.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to this podcast ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app today. Even if you love the thrill of true crime stories as much as I do, there are times when you want to mix it up. And that's where Audible comes in, with all the genres you love and new ones to discover. Explore thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, and originals, with more added all the time. Listening to Audible can lead to positive change in your mood, your habits,

and even your overall well-being. And you can enjoy Audible anytime, while doing household chores, exercising, commuting, you name it. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca. In 2014, Laura Heavlin was in her home in Tennessee when she received a call from California. Her daughter, Erin Corwin, was missing. The young wife of a Marine had moved to the California desert

to a remote base near Joshua Tree National Park. They have to alert the military. And when they do, the NCIS gets involved. From CBS Studios and CBS News, this is 48 Hours NCIS. Listen to 48 Hours NCIS ad-free starting October 29th on Amazon Music. I love his smile. He has a beautiful smile. And look at his eyes.

They just sparkle. My name is Sharon Krasnick, and I'm Jim's wife. I've been his wife for 23 years. These were beautiful, happy days before this whole nightmare started. Nearly 40 years have passed since Brighton resident Kathleen Krosanak was found murdered in her own home. Now prosecutors say Krosanak's then-husband committed the crime. That's Jim as a young man. So this is Jim's first wife, Kathy.

Yes, it is. You can see Jim and Kathy so obviously love one another. It was one of the most horrific crimes that we've seen in Rochester. She looked like she was just lying there on her right side sleeping. It does not appear that she ever saw this coming, that she ever woke up. The case is known as the Brighton Axe Murder. This is the axe that was found in Kathy's head at the time that Mr. Krausnick came home. Her three-and-a-half-year-old daughter was there throughout the day with her mom dead in the bed.

How soon did Jim Krausnick become the suspect in his wife's murder? Oh, I think within 24 hours. They felt that there just wasn't enough evidence to charge him at that point. They went through the years thinking, we're going to get something. It just went cold. The case has been unsolved for 40 years. I think that people, they just want to know what happened. James Krasnick will stand trial later this year

for the murder of his wife in the Brighton home nearly 40 years ago. No other physical evidence at the scene points to anyone other than James Krasnick. Basically, it became, who else could it be? They were so focused on Jim. If Jim Krasnick did not kill his wife, who did? Larrabee. Early on, police learned about this fellow who was living not far from the crime scene.

This evil, evil, evil man that lived so close to Kathy and Jim. He hated women. He was a one-man crime wave. He was a psychopath. They ignored him. I have absolutely no doubt that James Krasnick killed Kathy Krasnick that morning. So you're saying that this man, who had never shown any sign of violence before, and never shows any violence after, snaps one night, one night in his life,

and puts an ax in his wife's head? Yep. Yeah. Jim is a decent, loving human being. There is no way Jim would ever, ever have done anything like that. James Krasnick just doesn't look like an ax murderer. No, but Ted Bundy didn't look like a serial killer. I did not murder Kathy. Hot shot Australian attorney Nicola Gaba was born into legal royalty. Her specialty? Representing some of the city's most infamous gangland criminals.

However, while Nicola held the underworld's darkest secrets, the most dangerous secret was her own. She's going to all the major groups within Melbourne's underworld, and she's informing on them all. I'm Marsha Clark, host of the new podcast, Informants Lawyer X. In my long career in criminal justice as a prosecutor and defense attorney, I've seen some crazy cases, and this one belongs right at the top of the list. She was addicted to the game she had created. She just didn't know how to stop.

Now, through dramatic interviews and access, I'll reveal the truth behind one of the world's most shocking legal scandals. Listen to Informant's Lawyer X exclusively on Wondery+. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. And listen to more Exhibit C true crime shows early and ad-free right now.

Have you ever wondered who created that bottle of sriracha that's living in your fridge? Or why nearly every house in America has at least one game of Monopoly? Introducing The Best Idea Yet, a brand new podcast from Wondery and T-Boy about the surprising origin stories of the products you're obsessed with and the bolder risk takers who brought them to life. Like, did you know that Super Mario, the best-selling video game character of all time, only exists because Nintendo couldn't get the rights to Popeye? Or Jack, that the idea for the McDonald's Happy Meal first came from a mom in Guatemala? From Pez dispensers to Levi's 501s to Air Jordans. Discover the surprising stories

of the most viral products. Plus, we guarantee that after listening, you're going to dominate your next dinner party. So follow The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to The Best Idea Yet early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery+. It's just the best idea yet. On a wintry night near Rochester, New York, retired detective Mark Liberatore is showing us how he helped bring one of the coldest cases in America to trial. On February 19th, 1982, police officers arrived at this home. Which direction was her bedroom? Right over here to the right.

And encountered a horrific scene. Their bed was on this wall. The body of a 29-year-old mother, Kathy Krausnick, dead in bed with an axe lodged in her head. It was a single blow to the head and she died instantly, according to the medical examiner. Jim Krawczyk told police he arrived home from work and found his wife's body. His three-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Sarah, was there and unharmed. Minutes later, he showed up at his neighbor's house, seemingly traumatized, with Sarah in his arms. The neighbor called 911. Her husband's here, and traumatized with Sarah in his arms. The neighbor called 911. Her husband's here and he can't even talk. After Jim told her, he thought Kathy was dead.

Okay, there's someone right over there. Dispatch immediately sent first responders. Brighton Police Lieutenant Bill Flood arrived to get a statement from Krasnick. He was moaning, he was crying. Krasnack, a Kodak company economist, said he'd left for work that morning at the usual time, around 6.30. He said he had been gone all day. Kathy had planned to stay home to take care of Sarah. You could tell that the little girl had been left alone. It looked obvious to us that

she addressed herself. It seemed obvious to Detective Flood that Sarah was confused about what had happened. Sarah said she had seen a bad man sleeping in mommy and daddy's bed with an axe in his head. Asked if the man was black or white, she said he was many colors. But Flood thinks Sarah hadn't seen a man at all, that it was her mother in bed covered with blood. And what does a three-and-a-half-year-old do? Gary Craig reports for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. You know, the murder in and of itself is baffling and hard to believe. But you add this element where Kathy's daughter has been left in the house with her murdered mother.

It's inconceivable that somebody could do that. Libertor and his partner Steve Hunt of Brighton PD say the first investigators at the scene found no significant forensic clues like fibers or fingerprints. And in 1982, DNA had not yet become an investigative tool. But there was something about the scene that struck them immediately. It looked like someone had pushed the pause button on a burglary. And there was a door leading into the house that had a pane of glass broken out. And there was a mall, which is like a heavier axe,

on the ground leading up against the wall right next to that. The axe found at the door and the one in Kathy's head both belonged to the Kralzniks. In the dining room, there were valuable items scattered. And on the floor was Kathy's purse with the contents strewn about.

There was a tea set on the floor, too. Everything was standing straight up like it was set there neatly. And a black garbage bag next to it. Inside was a faint shoe print, as if someone had stepped in it to hold it open. But despite many apparent signs of a burglary, Libertor and Hunt say the most important one was missing. Nothing was taken. There's an officer involved in this case from the 1980s who hits the nail on the head. We in Brighton do not handle a lot of homicides. We do handle a lot of burglaries. And this was not a burglary. Investigators suspected the burglary was simply staged to cover up the real crime,

Kathy's murder. And they began to focus on her husband. Let's face it, I mean, more often than not, it's the husband, it's domestic, so police are going to go there. But could Jim Kralczyk have committed such a brutal murder and left his baby daughter alone in that house? We spoke to friends and family who said the couple had seemed happy. Kathy and Jim had grown up in the same small town in Michigan,

but on opposite sides of the tracks. Kathy's father was a trucker. Jim's owned a successful carpet store. They met in high school, began dating in college, and married after graduation. It was a fancy wedding. Kathy's cousin Susie was just a kid. a fancy wedding. Kathy's cousin Susie was just a kid. Like a princess wedding kind of deal. Jim was pursuing an economics degree in Colorado when they had Sarah in 1978. She was just so excited about her daughter. Just so excited about her. Kathy Krausek's friend Kathy Behe. And you can tell how beautiful she is. Says she was a warm soul who lived for love, but remembers feeling that the last time they saw each other, just six months before the murder, something just didn't seem right.

Not the vivacious Kathy that I remembered. What was the next thing you heard? I got a call from my sister and she told me about Kathy being murdered. If Kathy and Jim were having trouble, they kept it to themselves. But police grew suspicious when they discovered a pamphlet in the couple's car that offered services including marriage counseling. And there was more. When they went to Kodak, they learned that Jim Krasnick had gotten his job under false pretenses, claiming to have a Ph.D. when he never actually completed the program.

There was also Krasnick's behavior. Newspaper reporter Gary Craig says initially he was cooperative. He was willing early on to give statements. Krasnick had spoken to investigators that night and the next morning, even agreeing to another meeting that afternoon. But when the time came. He was gone. Less than 24 hours after he found his wife murdered. Yes. Krausnick's parents had driven from Michigan and returned there with Jim and Sarah. Police say Jim left town without telling them.

I wouldn't consider it normal, but this is America and he's free to do so. When Rochester authorities followed them to Michigan, Krasnick continued answering their questions and even provided hair and blood samples. Ten days after the murder, he hired a lawyer. By this point, police were focused squarely on Jim Krasnick, but they had a problem. They needed to establish exactly when the murder had happened. Had Jim even been at home at the time? Remember, he told police he left for work at about 6.30 a.m. Back in 1982, the time of death gave a very broad range. The science was that you really could not pinpoint. Autopsy findings reportedly narrowed the time of death

to between 4.30 a.m. and as late as 7.30 a.m., an hour after Krasnick claimed to have left the house. With no direct evidence against him nor any clear motive, authorities didn't want to try their luck with a jury. The investigation went cold. No one was their luck with a jury. The investigation went cold. No one was ever charged with a crime. Krasnick and Sarah eventually moved out west. He would briefly wed twice more

before marrying his current wife, Sharon, 23 years ago, never dreaming that his past would come looking for him. We were in the bedroom. It was about 9 or 9.30 in the morning. We heard the doorbell ring. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island.

It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn, and it harboured a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reached the age of 10 that would still have heard it. It just happens to all of them. I'm journalist Luke Jones, and for almost two years, I've been investigating a shocking story that has left deep scars on generations of women and girls from Pitcairn. When there's nobody watching, nobody going to report it, people will get away with what they can get away with. In the Pitcairn trials, I'll be uncovering a story of abuse

and the fight for justice that has brought a unique, lonely Pacific island to the brink of extinction. Listen to the Pitcairn Trials exclusively on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Did you know that the movie Candyman was partly inspired by an actual murder. Listen to Candyman, the true story behind the bathroom mirror murder, early and ad-free on Wondery Plus and the Wondery app. In 1997, Sharon James ran into Jim Krausnick, an old friend, at a trade show when sparks flew. And he asked me out, and from then on, for two years, we dated. They both lived near Seattle.

Krausnick and his daughter, Sarah, had moved there ten years earlier, but couldn't leave the past behind. He was devastated with the death of Kathy. Sharon says he told her about Kathy's 1982 murder, but didn't offer details. And I didn't want to pry because he would start getting emotional. What was it that made you fall in love with him? Jim is so honest. He's so loving. I wanted to be a part of his family. They married in 1999. You like to spend a lot of time together? Oh, absolutely. As the years rolled by, Sharon had no idea that more than 2,000 miles away in Rochester, New York, someone else would set her sights on Jim Krasnick. Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Dorley. Kathy really needed to have justice.

In 2015, the FBI provided resources to help Brighton police with their investigation. I mean, you look at all those boxes of paperwork and evidence. It's daunting. Detectives Mark Libertor and Steve Hunt of the Brighton PD took the lead. And poring over the file, they too became convinced the evidence pointed to one person, Jim Krasnick. So on April 16, 2016. We were just having a lazy Saturday morning and then all of a sudden the doorbell rang. Hi, Mark Levertoir. How are you?

You wanted to surprise us. Absolutely. Probably a little bit surprised why we're here. Did Jim at that point think, maybe I better call a lawyer? No, no, not at all. On the contrary, she says her husband welcomed them in and allowed them to record the conversation. Hopefully you'll get some good news. We just want to kind of revamp everything, go through everything again with you.

She says they sat around the kitchen table talking for more than an hour. They said, we think we know who killed Kathy and we need your help. In that type of a tone. I'm sure you think about this, who could possibly have done this? For a long time. But then, Sharon says, detectives Libertor and Hunt suddenly turned up the heat. Did you have anything to do with this? I didn't kill Kathy.

I disagree. I think you did. You could see his heart pounding through his shirt. That would be a very scary thing that somebody's accusing you of killing someone. I would say scary if you did it. Was that the first time then you started hearing details of what happened to Kathy? Yes. Sharon says it also was the first time she had heard any suggestion that her husband was involved.

Did you ever ask him point blank? No, I didn't. I didn't have to. You didn't have to know? No, I know. I know he did not murder his wife. Sharon, how can you be so sure? You only have Jim's word for it. No. When you're married to a man, you know his heart and you know his soul. Jim could never, Erin, never in this world do something so horrific. You know, somebody listening to you would say,

you sound a little naive. Didn't you have some doubts? Didn't you want to know more? You can call me naive, I suppose. But she insists that no one who has known Jim Krasnick as well as she has for as long as she has could possibly have doubts. No, I'm not going to question him. I don't doubt for a moment he was innocent.

But the detectives still hope to find what investigators 40 years ago were never able to find, a smoking gun that tied Jim Krasnick to the Brighton Axe murder. You have to remember, back in 1982, there was no such thing as DNA testing. So my first thought was, you know, what can we test? Are we going to find someone else's DNA on any item within the home? We sent the evidence from 82 back to the FBI lab.

The results? There was no DNA evidence that directly tied Krasnick to the crime, but none tying anyone else to the murder either. And although DNA evidence can degrade over time... The most important thing was finding the absence of someone else's DNA within that home. But to charge Jim Krasnick, they wanted to prove his wife had died before he had gone to work. Jim claimed to have left the house at around 6.30 a.m. and Kathy had been fined.

We need a definitive time of death. Back in 1982, the medical examiner was unable to narrow the time of death enough. And since then, other experts have agreed with her. the time of death enough. And since then, other experts have agreed with her. In 2018, prosecutors turned to Dr. Michael Bodden. For over 50 years, Bodden, a forensic pathologist, has been hired to work on a who's who of whodunit cases. From the assassination of JFK. Bodden testified that a single bullet struck the president's back. To the reported suicide of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Often raising eyebrows and generating controversy. In this case, using the same file from 1982, Bodden said in his analysis, it appeared Cathy died at about 3.30 a.m. That would be hours before Jim Krausek said he left for work that day. You know, some people may say that we're looking for an opinion. That you were just looking for somebody who would pick a time of death that was before Krausek left the house in order to secure an indictment. Absolutely. But if, in fact, Dr. Bodden had agreed with the other medical examiners,

would you have hired him? Absolutely not. Armed with Dr. Bodden's opinion on Kathy's time of death, along with what they believe is evidence of a staged burglary, prosecutors went before a grand jury. Jim Krasnick was indicted on November 1st, 2019. He voluntarily surrendered to authorities a week later. Do you have any doubt about Jim Krasnick's guilt in his wife's murder? I have absolutely no doubt. None. None whatsoever. But Jim Krasnick's attorneys say there's a mountain of doubt in this case because Jim Krasnick is not the Brighton Axe murderer.

There was someone who could be responsible for it. A serial predator had been living in the neighborhood who actually confessed to killing Kathy. There really is no evidence that Jim Krasnick killed his wife. Attorneys Bill Easton and Michael Wolford are trying to save James Krasnick. He is the most reserved, humble, gentle person. A man both believe had zero motive for murder. They had a wonderful relationship. They had a wonderful family. And so his lawyers insist that February 19, 1982, was a typical morning in a home defined by love until a stranger slipped in and took it all away. Jim Krasnick went to work. Someone came in and killed Kathy Krasnick. We think that someone was Ed Larrabee.

Ed Larrabee, a monster just down the road. He was just a violent son of a gun and terrible, terrible human being. From Rochester's back streets to New York's toughest prisons,

Ed Larrabee had a reputation and record as a violent sexual predator. Larrabee hunted women. He was a psychopath. Before dying in prison in 2014, Larrabee was locked up for a total of 32 years on charges that ultimately included attempted murder, ultimately included attempted murder, robbery, and his sick specialty, rape. But all too often, Larrabee was released back on the streets. And every time he was free, he would rape again. He liked to laugh at women and humiliate them. You probably know as much about Ed Larrabee as anyone.

I think so. Right? Yeah. Ed Larrabee as anyone. I think so. Right? Yeah. Rachel Rear wrote Catch the Sparrow,

a harrowing story painfully close to home. It's about the murder of my stepsister in 1991. 27-year-old Stephanie Kopchinski was a music teacher and violinist when her life tragically

intersected with Ed Larrabee's. It's mind-boggling to me that he was ever free. In 1991, freshly paroled after serving a sentence for robbery, Larrabee had come back to the suburbs of Rochester, his familiar hunting ground. He got the job at Newcastle Apartment Complex, which is where my stepsister lived. Larrabee himself said that they were foolish to hire him. It wasn't long before Stephanie went missing. It was like she evaporated. Stephanie Kopczynski's death rattled many when she disappeared from her apartment in 1991.

Her remains found seven years later. The remains of Stephanie Kopczynski lay scattered in a shallow stream bed. She had been strangled. More than a dozen years later, Larrabee, by then convicted of other crimes and back in prison, admitted he was her killer. What made him confess to Stephanie's murder? What ultimately made him confess was that he was dying. Larrabee, who was suffering from ALS, came up with a bucket list of a dying man, pizza, sandwiches, and he was angling for an agreement to be buried off prison grounds.

agreement to be buried off prison grounds. So in 2012, Ed Larrabee confessed. He went into Stephanie's apartment and then she screamed and then he choked her and she died and he confessed to killing her. But Ed Larrabee didn't stop with Stephanie Kuczynski. Once he confessed to Stephanie's murder and realized that he could get things in exchange for confession, all of a sudden then he started wheeling and dealing and making more deals. Ed Larrabee contacted the FBI claiming he was a serial killer, and one of the victims he listed was a Rochester housewife murdered on a February morning in 1982, 29-year-old Kathy Krausnick. Ed Larrabee lived very close by,

and she was someone that he was going to prey on. The idea that decades earlier Ed Larrabee might have murdered Kathy doesn't come as a surprise to investigators and those who know him best. Everybody from back in that time frame is familiar with Ed. He would have been out of prison at the time that Kathy was killed. Free, violent, and just down the road. Police went to question him shortly after Kathy's murder. But Ed Larrabee wasn't talking back then.

They filed their report and then backed off. And is it fair to say the police dropped the ball in that case? Because you've got a sexual predator within minutes of the house and they don't do anything more than visit him once? I think it's very fair to say that. To have apparently ignored Ed Larrabee in 1982, whether he did or didn't do it, it clearly was just a major lapse in the investigation. I don't know that I'd use the phrase drop the ball, and unfortunately the officer and the sergeant

who approved that report are both deceased. Still, the FBI and detectives Libertor and Hunt don't believe Ed Larrabee murdered Kathy. He was a bad man. He's a bad man, but he's not our bad man. This is a guy who has a long history of hurting women, and he's confessing to killing Kathy Krasnick. Yeah, but his confession was way off. Why are you so sure it's not Edward Larrabee? Because his confession didn't match up to the facts as simple as that. Larrabee said Kathy had dark hair when, in fact, she was blonde. That she was heavyset when she wasn't.

that she was heavyset when she wasn't. Even Rachel Rear, who knows all too well the damage Larrabee can do, doesn't believe he killed Kathy. To me, I was like, it's not his M.O. I don't think he was a serial killer. He's a serial rapist. After four decades of dead ends, law enforcement was convinced that James Krasnick, not Ed Larrabee, wielded that bloody axe. This man is an innocent man. He has been treated so unjust.

But come 2022, James Krasnick, successful businessman and father, headed to trial. The 40-year-old murder case could hinge on mere minutes and prosecutors proving that Krause finally came to trial, prosecutors were betting on Michael Bodden, that forensic pathologist they had engaged, and his theory of when Kathy most likely died, about 3.30 a.m. Well, they needed a Dr. Bodden who said basically that it happened at 3.30 in the morning. That was different than any other medical examiner that was involved in this case. One of them was Catherine Maloney, a forensic pathologist who would testify for the defense, something she had seldom done before. Can you pinpoint the actual time of death?

No. Oh, my goodness. I wish I could. The best you're going to do is a window of several hours. Dr. Maloney thinks it's possible Kathy could have died much later in the day. Maloney thinks it's possible Kathy could have died much later in the day. I mean, so you're saying that Dr. Bodden is wrong? I disagree with him. I think he's wrong. I think she likely died sometime between like 5 a.m. and 1 p.m. Timing of the death seemed crucial. If Kathy was murdered in the dead of night before Jim Krasnick went to work, then prosecutors say her killer

wasn't an intruder. It had to be her husband. In opening statements today for the James Krasnick trial. The stage was set for a gruesome drama in search of its final act. What makes this case so unique is it happened over 40 years ago. Over those decades, hearts have been broken, relationships shattered. Really, how would you describe the last 40 years on your family? It's been a terrible, it's just got awful. Cousin Susie Jakomowicz witnessed the shift in Kathy's now 95-year-old father, Bob Schlosser, who today believes Krasnick is a killer, but for years was certain his son-in-law was innocent.

I just didn't think that he would do such a thing. I mean, had there ever been a real serious problem in their marriage that anybody had heard of? No, not that I knew of. But investigators believe the marriage was secretly crumbling. He snapped, is what we believe.

He just snapped. People look at Jim Krasnick. He just doesn't look like an axe murderer. What's an axe murderer look like? Bob believes

that over time, Krasnick began separating Sarah from her mother's family, the child who was home when her mother was murdered. We didn't see Sarah anymore. Not only was Kathy taken away, Sarah was taken away. Sarah is a grown woman now, firmly standing by her dad. As sure that he's innocent, as prosecutors Constance Patterson and Patrick Gallagher

are certain he's Kathy's killer. No doubt at all. Absolutely no doubt in my mind. But as the trial moved forward, lawyers on both sides confessed that they had a daunting challenge, time itself. Dealing with memory memory issues dealing with deceased witnesses witnesses can't recall what happened 40 years ago so investigators pursued evidence that didn't rely on the frailties of memory they homed in on the physical crime scene I wanted to not only prove that that Kathy was clearly killed in the early morning hours, but also prove that it was a staged burglary. There's a lot of questions and things just didn't make sense. Authorities argued the scene was staged by someone who had no idea what a burglary looked like.

The house wasn't ransacked. In fact, there was cash on the dresser in the room where Kathy was killed that wasn't taken. In fact, there was cash on the dresser in the room where Kathy was killed that wasn't taken. The broken glass, the seemingly precise placing of that mall. They wanted us to believe that the mall was used to break that pane of glass. That silver tea set, barely disturbed. And when you looked at the pieces that don't fit, the reason they don't fit is because it was a staged burglary. Then there was that faint shoe print investigators found inside this garbage bag.

Prosecutors thought the print told a story. The only way that gets in there is when the bag is being opened, when items are being placed in that bag. And somebody is putting their foot on there so they can hold it open? So you're stepping on the edge of that bag, holding one edge, and you're placing that silver in the bag. Investigators say the print was from special footwear, a boat shoe. And why boat shoe? And so there's a picture in that bedroom where you can see, next to the bed, you can see these boat shoes.

And whose shoes are those? And those are James Krausnick's shoes. He's a boat shoe wearing guy. And we don't have murderers running around in February in the wintertime wearing boat shoes and killing people. But the shoes Krausnick wore back then were not tested to see if they were a match. And his lawyers say it's not just the wrong theory, say it's not just the wrong theory, it's the wrong man. They say it's Ed Larrabee, that career criminal who before he died had confessed to killing Kathy. He lives four minute walk away. But there's the problem of Larrabee's M.O. Remember, he was a repeat sex offender. Was there any sign that Kathy had been sexually assaulted or that she had had any contact at all with her killer?

None whatsoever. Do you believe that there was tunnel vision in this investigation? I think it would almost be the dictionary definition of tunnel vision. There was this overwhelming urge and desire to solve the crime, and it had to be Jim Krasnick. I know he did it. I know it was him. Come closing statements, cameras were allowed into the courtroom as lawyers made their final pleas. The mystery of Kathy Krasnick's death remains to this day and we submit it has not been resolved by this trial. Common sense tells you this was a staged burglary. Those are the only reasonable inferences that can be drawn from this case. There are no eyewitnesses.

There are no earwitnesses. There is no direct evidence. That was the case 40 years ago, and that's the case now. But Gallagher reminded the jury of that time stamp, 3.30 a.m., that pathologist Michael Bodden put as Kathy's possible time of death. Common sense tells you she died early that morning.

As we said at the outset, there is no new evidence, simply a new opinion by Dr. Bodden. We don't think that cuts it. Forty years after that awful day, the case would now go to a jury. Were you worried? I was worried, yes. And Jim being the husband, and that's being the typical fall guy, a husband must have done it. I was very fearful.

What do you make of the case against Jim Krasnick? See a timeline of how the investigation unfolded at 48hours.com. Jim Krasnick's fate will be determined by 12 strangers. They want to hold someone accountable for this. I was very fearful. Because it's Sharon and Sarah's future as well. On Friday night, the jury hadn't finished their deliberations. And I was so thankful.

I thought, oh, you know, give us this weekend. Did you think this could be the last weekend you could spend with them? I think deep down, I probably did. Altogether, it takes a jury less than 10 hours of deliberations to reach a verdict. Guilty. Jim Krasnick is guilty of second-degree murder. I remember standing up, and I saw this one deputy across from me, and I said, oh, please let me hug my husband.

He said, no, no, I can't. We got our justice. For 40 years, thank God, we got it. Unfortunately, there is a presumption of guilt. If the husband is living in the home and the wife is killed, he's almost presumed guilty. Defense attorney Mike Wolford says that Jim Kralzik was convicted because of who he was, not what he did. I think there was a gut reaction on the part of the jurors that, well, he probably did it. But the jurors we spoke to insisted they decided this case on the evidence,

evidence they admit had divided them at the start. I just kept thinking someone else really could have done this. The forensics did not point to anybody else. The first time they voted, we were told six said guilty, three not guilty, three undecided. The most important thing to me was the stage burglary scene. They said that stage scene was a critical clue, and there was something else they seemed to agree on, that in the end, it was impossible to say exactly when Kathy died. We threw out all of that testimony. It meant nothing to us. But their verdict means everything to Kralzik's heartbroken daughter, Sarah, who tells the judge at sentencingencing it adds insult to deep injury. I've been blessed with the most extraordinary parents. Sadly, they have both been taken from my life. My mother's killer got

away with her murder, and my father's life has been taken by a failed justice system that convicted him of a crime he did not commit. But Sarah's grandfather, Kathy's father, wants to make sure Jim Krasnick spends the rest of his life paying for her death. And Jim, I hope you live to be 100 years old and enjoy your new home. And finally, it's up to Jim Krasnick himself to take one last opportunity to address the court. To this day, it's still very difficult for me to talk about the circumstances that surrounded her death. All I see is Kathy with an axe in her head and Sarah standing in the hallway, de-shuffled with an empty and distant look on her face.

I did not murder Kathy. I love Kathy with all my heart and with all my soul. The judge is unmoved, giving the 71-year-old Krasnick 25 years to life behind bars.

Before his own life is over, there's one more thing Kathy's father wants to do. For decades, Kathy has been buried in Jim's family plot. I want to move my daughter's remains where her mother and brother are. But to move her, Bob Schlosser needs Sarah to agree, and that may never happen. Sarah and Sharon continue to support Jim, who intends to appeal his conviction. You're going to stand by him no matter what?

Oh, absolutely. Sharon Krausnick rejects the possibility that her husband has permanently traded his golden years for the hardened metal of a prison cell. We have a lot of hope. We have a lot of faith. This is not our retirement. This is a hiccup. This is just a pause. And Krausnick's lawyers say that forcing him to defend a 40-year-old case violated his constitutional right to a fair trial. Are you worried at all about that?

If an appellate court ruled in favor of Jim Krausnick and said that his rights had been violated, then it would all be for nothing. It wouldn't all be for nothing. Kathy's story was able to be told and that family was able to get justice. Justice has been done for Kathy. I'm Erin Moriarty, and this is my life of crime. Listen to My Life of Crime from 48 hours wherever you get your podcasts. What does it take to be retirement ready? Your questions answered all next week on the CBS Evening News with Nora O'Donnell. For more info, go to cbsnews.com slash moneywatch.

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