True Crime with Kimbyr - Part 2: Mom of 3 Murdered: DIARY Holds a CLUE! Denise Leuthold | True Crime Stories

Episode Date: March 23, 2026

In Part 2 of True Crime with Kimbyr, the investigation into Denise Leuthold’s murder takes a deeper, more unsettling turn. The diary’s hidden details begin to unravel secrets that point closer to the truth—revealing tensions, motives, and a timeline that doesn’t quite add up. As evidence mounts, a clearer picture emerges, but so do more disturbing questions. Who was really behind this brutal crime? True Crime with Kimbyr dives into the shocking developments, emotional revelations, and the pursuit of justice in a case that continues to haunt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The detectives wanted to know who the 20-year-old girl that Denise was referring to in her note was. When the detectives received the records from Nathan's cell phone, they found out who Denise was alluding to. Because when they looked... Own it all. Pay off your home. Travel for life. Drive a Ferrari. In celebration of the world premiere of the Monopoly Big Board Buckslot Machine by Aristocrat Gaming, Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is giving one person a $1.6 million dream package. The biggest prize in Yamava's history.

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It all seemed to make sense It was one of the foreign exchange students that they were sponsoring, but when I tell you her name, I hope it rings a bell. Ina Doubolete. You've heard this name before. Remember, she was the little six-year-old girl I mentioned earlier in this story. During their time in Lithuania, the Lutholds family became friends with the Dabolite family, which included their young daughter, Ina.

The Lutholds and this family became acquainted in 1998. Denise and Nathan could see that little Ina was dedicated to God and her faith. She had given herself to the Lord and Ina's mother was the one who truly helped Denise and Nathan get acquainted with everything in Lithuania, took them in, taught them the language, and helped them. Ina's mother was also always doing a lot for others and for the church. And Nathan was enamored with the way that little Ina followed her in her footsteps. Doesn't this sound familiar because it makes my stomach turn?

She's six. Ugh. Well, she was 16. Ina started babysitting for Denise and Nathan's children and participating in Denise's music lessons. And like Denise, I know was a talented musician. She dreamed of studying music in the Bible in America. And then she wanted to return to Lithuania to use her skills as a musician to help connect people with God.

And the Lutholds wanted to help, especially Nathan. I wonder why. It's like she's a younger version of Denise. In 2010, when Ina turned 18, Denise and Nathan agreed to sponsor her to come to the United States on a student visa. She enrolled in a Christian university in Pensacola, Florida, and Nathan decided to open up a joint bank account

for himself and Ina so that he could easily help fund things. For about two years, Nathan was the one who took care of Ina's living expenses. And during any school breaks, she would actually fly to Illinois and stay with Denise and Nathan. But during Ina's time in Pensacola, Nathan was frequently traveling from Illinois to Florida to visit this teenager.

This is too much. I swear, I don't trust anyone after reading these stories. That's my microphone. Anyone after reading these stories. And this was all under the guise of Nathan being this holier than now Christian. And just wait. When Nathan visited Ina, they stayed in an off-campus apartment together. She stayed with her sponsor.

No. That is just wrong. No. And the Christian University did not agree with this. They didn't take well to the fact that she was sleeping off campus with her older, married sponsor. So they put her on academic probation as they should. I mean, I understand they're both technically adults, but this is just inappropriate. Before the Christian university suspended her, Ina decided to leave the school and moved to Illinois, and she transferred to a non-religious school called Illinois Central College. which was a community college. She also decided to live in the basement of Denise's parents' home.

The one that Denise and Nathan and their children are also living in. Wow. He moved her right in under his wife's nose. But of course, Denise is a wonderful woman. She loves helping people. So while Ina is living with her sponsors, Nathan would take her to a spa. a spa. Oh boy. It was called five cents a spa in Peoria and he paid for Ina's

massages, waxing, and hair services. This was the same spa that Nathan told detectives he bought a gift card for Denise for. Remember that Valentine's Day gift card for like $74. Huh. Well this information definitely interested detectives. They drove out to the five senses spa and they wanted to question the employees about Nathan. The detectives asked the staff if they remembered Nathan and Ina and they go, oh yeah. We assumed they were together that they were a couple. However, the employees reported to detectives that Nathan shocked them on Valentine's Day when he asked for a gift certificate for his wife.

This is pure disgust. They're sitting there writing to Denise and thinking like, well, who's the other girl he's been bringing in here? As the detectives probed deeper into Nathan and Ina's relationship, they found out, in their opinion, it was much more than a sponsor student type of relationship. In the summers of 2011 and 2012, the two of them frequently visited Cougarplex, which is a sports complex in Illinois, and they went there without Denise, watching the games, having fun.

They also stayed in luxury hotels several times during the winter of 2012. And again, Denise did not go with her husband on these visits. While in Chicago, Nathan bought Ina an expensive coat and paid for dinners at high-end restaurants. The investigators also found evidence that Nathan and Ina traveled together on horseback without Denise at the Cook County Forest Preserve. Just these little outings with her sponsor. However, Ina was no longer living with the Lutholds at the time that Denise was killed. She had actually transferred to a Christian university back in Chicago called the Moody Bible Institute. It was 160 miles away from where they were and where Denise was murdered.

But before Denise's murder, Diane, her mom, actually had this weird feeling about everything that was going on. Of course she did. She actually confronted her daughter and said, how do you feel about your husband having this relationship with Ina? Are you jealous that he's traveling with this teenager all alone? And according to Diane, Denise said no, that Ina was like family. Denise told her mom that she understood and she supported Ina's decision to get help from Nathan while she was living in the United States. Nathan was the only person who could speak fluent Lithuanian. And Denise said that she supported their friendship. She trusted him and she probably shouldn't have. But they had sponsored a number of other students before.

She didn't think she had anything to worry about. Detectives reviewed the text messages on NAPE. Nathan and Denise's cell phone records, and Nathan's text to his wife, were very different from the ones he sent to Ina. Most of the messages that Nathan exchanged with Denise were mundane. They lacked emotion. They were almost always about the children.

Like what were they doing, confirming like pick-up times, drop-off times, things like that. Not flirtatious, not passionate. But when it came to Nathan and Ina, these weren't just conversations about scripture between the two of the two of them. the two of them, they were actually able to recover some messages that Nathan thought he had deleted.

In one exchange between the two of them, it was the afternoon before Denise's murder. And Ina says, I'm going to the gym. And Nathan said, without me. And when she was done, she said, done with the gym. And this man responds with what question mark. This man is asking her if she is asking her if she is wet and I know he does not mean from the shower or her sweaty workout and she responds with a little bit and Nathan says but you smell good you are all so beautiful he doesn't have game he doesn't those are like what but really come on you're asking this young girl if she is wet no having gathered sufficient background information on Ina the detectives drove to Chicago to question her regarding her relationship with Nathan. But what they wanted to do was start out very

simple. They didn't want to tip her off about the fact that they knew there might be more going on with her and Nathan. They asked the basics, you know, how do you know the luth holds? How long have you known them? Can you tell me a little bit about the family? But as they got into the questions that were more probing, guess what happened? I know who was speaking complete, fluent English, all of a sudden started to say, I don't understand the question. I don't understand the question. I don't I don't understand. Really? She just stared at them, stone cold, and refused to answer any other questions about Denise.

The detectives tried to shock her. They put crime scene photos in front of her, plenty crime scene photos. And Denise's autopsy photos, and she never responded. And they were frustrated by the lack of emotion that was coming from this girl. So they called her out. And one of these detectives, he was a badass. I love the way he went about this because I watched some of these. some of these interviews.

And he was just going hard. He's like, these people brought you to America from Lithuania. They treated you like family. And now this woman is dead and it doesn't bother you. And she just looked at him and she's like, I cried enough over the weekend. But you couldn't understand why it didn't seem like she cared. And it didn't end there. During the interview, the detective questioned her about the trips to the spa.

And this detective was like, listen, if my wife ever found out that I was taking a 20-year-old waxes and massage appointments, I would be kicked out of the house. My stuff would be on the front yard. This made no sense to him. So he was like, what is all of this about? And the detective was relentless. He even went so far as to literally confront her and say, what did you need waxing with Nathan there? And she just did not respond. I mean, this detective was a balzy. He was literally like, what exactly was he getting waxed up for you, huh? When the detectives asked Ina if she and Nathan had a sexual relationship, she denied it. And they said, okay, well, why did you switch schools? Now see, they already knew why, but they want to hear it from her. She said she injured her hands while she was

studying piano, and she had to leave. She didn't say she was kicked out, but the investigators were aware of the scandal that she was involved in sleeping with her sponsor off campus, so now they've caught her in a lie. The official records they subpoenaed from the school stated she was dismissed for having an inappropriate relationship with her sponsor, Nathan Luthold. The amount of text messages was also suspicious. If he was just checking in as a sponsor, there would maybe be one or two, but they carried on conversations on a regular basis. But no one in Nathan's immediate circle thought he had anything to do with what happened to Denise. He was a missionary after all, a Christian, a good-hearted person.

It had to be someone else, someone pure evil. However, one day, the minister, from their own church, came to talk to Denise's parents. The first question, out of his mouth to Denise's mother was, do you think Nathan had anything to do with this? And that was shocking. But there was a reason why he wanted to know. It was to confirm his own suspicions about something that he had seen that didn't sit right with him. He had seen Nathan and Ina driving around together alone, several months before Denise's death. To him, the fact that Denise wasn't with them

made it look like there was something more going on with this couple. And later he said that he called Denise and Nathan into his office for a meeting. And he cautioned Nathan about his behavior. The minister told him in front of Denise that it wasn't a good look. And that this behavior could potentially be detrimental to the ministry. He warned Nathan that the church could withhold his funds. They had been providing him financial support to fund his missionary work. But get this.

Two times a week, he was receiving 25 hundred hundred thousand. And this was financial aid from various churches around the country. Wow. Well, that explains why he told Little Miss to move 160 miles away after this happened. The detectives decided to take a deeper look into Nathan's whereabouts on Valentine's Day 2013. They examined CCTV footage taken from Starbucks, Chase Bank, and all around town, where Nathan claimed to have stopped. The detectives also asked the five senses spa for their footage from that day. And we'll see that When they reviewed this footage, they found Nathan was indeed at these locations on February 14th. However, his whereabouts could only be accounted for until 11.30 a.m. There was a gap between the time he exited Starbucks, 1130 a.m., and returned to that same Starbucks at 12.45 p.m. Detectives thought Denise was actually murdered during that exact time frame. They even found a route that Nathan could have taken from Starbucks to Robinson Park.

where he could have walked to the house, then driven Denise's car back to the park, grabbed his car, and went back to Starbucks. And according to the investigators, they traveled this route and only took them six minutes and 55 seconds. And of course, you have to account for the time it would have taken to commit the crime and walking to and from the park in the house,

10 minute walk. So let's say 25 to 30 minutes. The detective said this was not only possible, but it's probably what happened. It was easier. to think that Nathan did this than some random person who just happened to be in the area, break in, steal things, rummaged around, found a gun, and a spare set of keys, heard a woman coming, broke into the gun case, got the gun, killed this person, and then either searched around

for the spare keys and or broken gun case before fleeing the scene. It didn't make sense. And guess what? After scouring the park, an officer discovered fleece gloves about 50 feet away from the car and a set of spare car keys in a trash can. So there were spare keys after all. On top of that, they found a black hoodie crumbled up on the floor of Denise and Nathan's room, and it looked like it had been taken off in a hurry and just thrown there, and it matched the one the neighbor said that she saw a man wearing on his way from where? Robinson Parked to the Newton's home on the day of the murder. A couple weeks later, law enforcement was analyzing reports that they had requested, they'd finally come back, and they were from Nathan's laptop.

Nathan, cleverly, had set the browser to not save his history. So anytime he would search something, it would just disappear. However, forensic programs make it easy to uncover these deleted searches. When are we going to learn that you can't outsmart smart devices? They found disturbing internet searches that had been conducted using. using Nathan's personal laptop, including phrases like, blow to the head, hitting someone over the head to knock them out, how to cause sleep paralysis, sleep inducing drugs, methods to take your own life, but they were in other words, of course,

same method but taking life from insulin, lethal injection, dying by injecting air, murder insulin, drowning in a bathtub, electrocution in tub, or how to kill yourself with insulin, Where to buy potassium chloride, how to hide the sound of a gunshot, how to silence a Glock 40, which is the exact gun he owned, and the type used to kill Denise. Finally, he searched how to erase everything from an iPad. These searches span the last few months. So he is sitting there thinking about and searching different ways to murder his wife.

Oh no, that's not what he said happened. Wait, because he has an explanation for these searches. I'm going to believe it. First, he denies ever killing Denise, of course. And for the searches, are you ready for this? He says, we started a foundation overseas called Hope for Tomorrow. And it was to combat people taking their own lives. He literally said that he was doing research,

looking at websites that desperate people used to get information about what they were going to do in their last moments. Cool story, bro. On March 6, 2013, only three weeks after Denise was murdered, Nathan Luthold was arrested for first-degree murder, and they pulled him over right after he dropped his kids off at school. They put handcuffs on him, they put him in the back of a cop car, and he sat there, and he was like, what's going on?

You're going to jail. He's like, what for? He's acting shocked. They're like, your wife's murder? It was definitely shocking. It was shocking for the community, that's for sure. everyone who knew this family did not expect this to happen. Some didn't and wouldn't believe it.

Many people who had known Nathan for years said that the only reason they were putting him behind bars was because the police couldn't solve the case. So they needed to place blame on someone. But men do this all the time. I mean, women do too, but men do it more. Look at Chris Watts. All for the mistress and losing that love and feeling. But even Denise's mom would not believe it.

This was someone that she knew since he was a child. She had to wait for it to all play out in court. And Nathan maintained his innocence. He said something I heard in a previous case that I did. It was the one about Tara Grant, and I don't want to ruin it for anyone, so if you didn't see it, please fast forward to the timestamp on the screen right now.

But in that case, Tara Grant's husband, Stephen, said that he missed Tara. She was the one he went to when anything went wrong, the one he went to when he needed advice. advice and answers. Well, Nathan said the same thing. He said that Denise was the one I would go to in any difficult time to ask what to do. And then he found himself doing that in the days after her death. Like, what do we do with the kids? And he just wanted to be able to call her and talk to her. Well, like I said, I've heard and seen this before. It's the same song and dance from Stephen Grant,

who dismembered his wife and stuffed her in a rubber made container. So it means nothing to me. alligator tears. After his arrest, Nathan filed several pretrial motions. His first motion was to suppress all the statements that he made the day of Denise's murder on February 14, 2013. He claimed he'd never been informed of his Miranda rights before his six-hour interview. Nathan's sister, father, and several detectives appeared before the court during this two-day hearing in March of 2014. The court reviewed Nathan's interview in its entirety, and after hearing the detective's testimony, and reviewing the footage, the court determined that the language used

by the police was never confusing. And additionally, the court noted that Nathan spoke coherently and he appeared to be confident. During his interview, he also received several phone calls. Some of those were from Aynah. And while Nathan was alone in the room, about two hours and 53 minutes into the interview, he called his dad.

And according to the court's interpretation of these recordings, Nathan never mentioned anything about wanting to leave. He didn't tell his father he wanted to speak to a lawyer. No, nothing like that. According to the court, however, Nathan seemed pretty concerned when his father told him that Denise's murder was broadcasted on the news and that it was on Facebook. He was even more concerned when he found out that the pastor of their church found out about her murder. Did he not think anyone would care that his wife was gone? That his church wouldn't be talking about it, that this wouldn't be big news in their community?

Wouldn't you want people to know so they could find the killer? But no, he was just going on about his day, telling his dad where to get clothes for the kids. It was like nothing happened. During the trial, the court heard the detectives say, no, you're not in custody. You could walk right out the door right now. There were times during the interview

when Nathan opened the door himself and walked in and out of the room. There were numerous breaks taken and approximately three hours and 21 minutes into the interview, he told detectives he had just spoken to his in-laws, Doug, and Diane. And right afterward, he said to them, I'm not in custody, but can I talk to you? He said that to the investigator, so he wanted to talk.

And clearly, if he says, I'm not in custody, he knows that he's what, not in custody. So the court held that the detectives did not violate his constitutional rights when taking this statement. And they dismissed his motion. he was read, his Miranda rights, four hours in, because that's when they went into the home. And that's when they were digging deeper

and they were asking more pressing questions. So the Miranda rights were read word for word on video. And the detective said, knowing these, or having these rights read to you, do you wish to waive them and speak to us? And he said he did want to continue speaking to them. Finally, at five hours and 31 minutes, that's when Nathan finally says,

I'm so physically tired. If you guys want to keep talking, I don't want to do this. The court said that at this time, they had already finished the interview. It was only at the end of the video that Nathan said. If the only way for me to stop this dead-end conversation is for me to exercise a right, then I need to know how to do that. And based on its review, the court found that the length of the interview six hours was not excessive, since Nathan was the person who called the police to report the crime,

and they found he wasn't in custody before the Miranda warnings were given. And so for all those reasons, they denied his motion to suppress. On April 23, 2014, Nathan had a court hearing for the motion he filed to suppress all the electronic information that investigators discovered. But Nathan had knowingly and voluntarily signed all the consent forms to allow the authorities to search his devices without any limits. And the court found that law enforcement...

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bar the prosecution from presenting that letter that they found in Denise's day planner. The state filed a motion on June 4th, 2014, seeking a ruling that the note would be admissible. But according to Nathan, that letter violated his right to marital privilege. What? That's ridiculous. If you indeed killed her, you lost your rights. And after all, those were her private writings. But in the end, the court concluded that Denise's letter was spontaneous. It wasn't the result of questioning, and the letter was not written with any government involvement. So there was no evidence that Denise intended the letter to be used against Nathan. These were just her words, her thoughts.

It was like her diary. So the letter was admitted. It did not violate Nathan's constitutional rights. Jury selection for Nathan Lutheld's trial began July 2014. And at the same time, a judge ordered that cameras were allowed in the courtroom and to film this court case. and this was the first of its kind for this particular county. This was a big case. This was an overtly religious man, a missionary at that.

It happened in an upscale neighborhood. It was of high public interest. The murder trial against Nathan began Monday, July 14th, 2014. Jody Hughes was prosecuting the case alongside Jerry Brady from the state's attorney's office, and during her opening statement, she said that she didn't need a confession from Nathan, to find him guilty. She stated that she would present eyewitness testimony, DNA, gunshot residue, forensic cell phone analysis, and computer analysis, plus a motive in the victim's own words, to prove that Nathan killed his wife. The prosecutor even pointed to Nathan and said he did it.

However, of course, according to Nathan's attorney Hugh Toner, the state isn't telling the whole story. He said, sure, investigators found gunshot residue on the sweatshirt. in war, but he wore it when he was hunting. Of course, there was gonna be gunshot residue on that. As far as the defense attorney was concerned, the state's evidence did not prove that his client murdered anyone. Diane Parrish was the first witness to take the stand.

She was the neighbor, and she testified that she saw a man with a black hooded sweatshirt walking against traffic on the side of the road at 1220 p.m. on February 14th, in the direction of Denise's home, and that it was suspicious to her, because people often use that road early in the morning or in the evening after work, but never during the day.

Another witness testified that she drove to her sister's house, which was near Denise's, and it was around 1230 on February 3rd and again on February 14th. She said that she heard a gunshot on one of those dates, and according to the woman, she was more than sure it was on February 14th, but she couldn't be certain. However, that goes to the time frame. Even Little Miss Ina testified and Nathan's true. with the assistance of an interpreter. But before Nathan's murder trial,

she invoked her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. However, the state offered her immunity, so she changed her mind and decided to testify. While on the witness stand, Ina stated that she attended college in Pensacola, Florida between 2010 and 2011. She talked about Nathan visiting her and the apartment that they shared off campus.

She also told them that she did travel with Nathan to Europe, during the summers of 2011 and 2012 without Denise. Wow. They went across the country on these trips. The prosecutor presented photos of their horseback riding passes from the Cook County Forest Preserve. But Ina denied ever telling Nathan that she loved him. She said they were never lovers. But according to her, Nathan emailed her on January 18, 2013, about a month before the murders. And this is what the email said, quote, I let you down and I'm sorry. I'm not going to make excuses. That would not be fair to you.

You deserve someone who respects you and puts their relationship first. And from now on, I want to do all that I can do to be that person. There's nothing more important to me than you in this relationship. I'm so blessed to have you in my life and I know it, end quote.

What does that sound like to you? It's kind of ambiguous. I don't know, but I can't get the gym text out of my head asking if she's wet. Yuck. According to Ina, she spoke with Nathan three times on February 14th. At 3 p.m., Nathan sent a text to her saying that he believed there had been a robbery at the house. And you know how she responded? She just said, interesting. And she put an emoji of a smiley face. If that's not weird, I don't know what it is. Why a smiley face? And of course, she acknowledged that that reaction was inappropriate. And I'd say so. It's kind of as though

was planned. That he said something like, you know what, I'm going to text you, I'm going to tell you about the burglary, but since she was young and maybe there was some kind of barrier in the communication, she didn't realize that she needed to be more careful by how she responded. But Ina testified that Nathan's family was paying for her attorney fees. That's right. And that she and his parents were in contact every single day since Nathan's arrest. Interesting to use her words. After Denise's murder, Nathan's parents advised Ina not to talk to the police. The prosecutor also presented some jailhouse conversations between Nathan and Ina, between May 16th and 18th, 2013. And guess what? They spoke in Lithuanian, even though they both spoke English fluently,

and Ina attended several English-speaking colleges in the United States and received very good grades. She asked for a translator in court, even though she was. was proficient in speaking and written English. Convenient sounds like a strategy to me. That was also an excuse that she brought up. She said she was closer to Nathan because he spoke Lithuanian proficiently, unlike Denise, who she said never had an interest in perfecting her language skills.

One of their phone conversations, which the prosecution translated, sounded as though Nathan was coaching Ina on what to say when she was questioned. He said to explain to the detectives that she had known his family for all over a decade. And then he instructed her to inform them that he was just her spiritual advisor, a clergy member, and that Denise was okay with their friendship. The detectives should know that Denise

liked and prayed for Ina. So Nathan reminded her to say that. And he also said, don't forget clergy and their congregation talk privately, just like attorneys and clients do. Ina also testified that she did not attend Denise's funeral. And she emailed her mom, Inga, in Lithuania, just before the funeral. And in that email, this is what she said. Quote, everything is under God's control. He has a plan. And this is part of his plan.

Everything is not as awful as it sounds. Children and Nathan are really doing well. It might be quite difficult on Monday and Tuesday, but after that, it should be better. Many people are praying. It could be felt. Children cried only once when they first learned about it. Nathan and Denise's daughter did not say once

that she wanted her mother. But if she needs anything, she asked for Ina. Yikes. It's like she just easily took over Denise's place. I would be rolling over in my grave if this was happening to me. The pastor of Lamarche Baptist Church testified in Nathan's trial. He said he had spoken to Nathan and Denise,

and members of the church about Nathan and Ina being alone. The owner of the spa testified talking about how him and Ina visited for two years, and that Denise also visited the spa, but they were never aware that Denise was Nathan's wife until he came in to buy that gift card. But it was the testimony of one witness in particular that was very damning to Nathan's defense. His name was David Smith. He met Nathan about March or April of 2013 while he was serving a four 14-year sentence in the county jail. The two men were housed in the same unit and would talk daily for hours. Nathan had asked David for guidance on his hypothetical legal questions, and David promised to never reveal what Nathan said.

But according to David Smith, Nathan confided in him. He said that Denise was overbearing. He even said that he met another woman and he was ready to move on. The prosecutor asked David if Nathan told him what the name was name of this woman was that he was dating? And David responded, I think it was Anna, Lana, something like that. It's close to Ina, I guess. David Smith testified that Nathan told him that on the day of the murders, he did certain things to account for his whereabouts at certain times. He even said he purchased a Valentine's Day gift for Denise so that everything seemed normal. And that he parked his car in Robinson Park, passed through the woods and went to the house, then hid in the closet, and waited for Denise to come home.

David also said that Nathan was wearing something black, including a hoodie. However, he changed his clothes because he thought that someone had seen him walking to the house. And as Denise returned home from her errands, Nathan actually spoke to her before he killed her. According to him, he shot his wife on the left side of her head. He told David Smith that he chose Valentine's Day for the murder

as a present for the other woman. woman. That is evil. According to Nathan, he initially considered poisoning his wife with insulin or potassium, but then he just decided to use a gun because it was easier, but he wanted to find a silencer. And he deliberately went to places like Starbucks, the bank, and just hung out so that he could be places at certain times and that he could be placed there. And I realized that these jailhouse snitches, they aren't always, you know, great at telling the truth. They do have access to the news. So it's not always that persuasive, but he knew very crucial information. A forensic scientist, though, found Nathan's DNA on Denise's gear shift, which was interesting, since Nathan had said during

his initial interview that he had not driven her car in over a year. Another forensic scientist testified that gunshot residue was found on the right cuff of that black hooded sweatshirt in Denise and Nathan's room. And based on these findings, the black sweatshirt was used near a firearm when it was fired, or it had made contact with an item with gunshot residue. After the state rested, it was time for Nathan's attorney to present their case. The first witness that they called was a neighbor of Denise and Nathan's. He said that he saw that suspicious vehicle at least twice on the street that he shared with Denise and Nathan. The defense said somebody else committed this murder, and they presented evidence regarding other home invasions and burglaries in the area.

A detective testified that a series of home invasions followed Denise's murder, and each of these crimes happened within a year. They would come in, they would enter the home, they would remove electronics and jewelry, and the offenders even made off with the victim's car, just like they did in Denise's case. But my question was, did they kill someone in those cases? But after hearing both the states and the defense's arguments,

the trial court ruled that none of these other crimes committed in the area were relevant to Denise's murder. The judge noted that those robberies occurred months after Denise's death, and all of those crimes were on the opposite side of town in more densely populated areas. And furthermore, the offenders in the other burglaries tied up the victims and taunted them, then looted their homes and stole their vehicles. But Denise's car was left not far from their home. In the other cases, the cars were left in other counties,

far from where the crime was committed. And the additional cases did not involve injuries or death. The prosecution and the defense gave their closing arguments. The state's attorney focused on evidence related to motive, the extramarital affair with Ina. Aside from that, they argued that Nathan didn't show any emotion during that video-recorded interview. He didn't even ask what happened to his wife. It only took the jury two hours to come back with a guilty verdict on first-degree murder. Nathan appealed his conviction immediately after hearing the verdict.

There was a hearing on September 14, 2014 for Nathan's sentence and post-trial motion. The judge denied Nathan's motion for a new trial and sentenced him to 80 years in prison. If he were ever to get out, the judge remanded him to three years of mandatory supervised release. After the trial, Nathan told Dateline that he was planning on testifying but changed his mind. He said that the state moved beyond the facts of the case and he refused to give them any more fuel. According to Nathan, the cops never looked past him to find the real robber.

Nathan also told Dateline that there were insurance claims that showed that items had been stolen during Denise's murder. And I watched this interview. And man, all I can say is that this guy can lie with a straight face. I believe he's as guilty as charged. And Nathan just kept on saying it may not look like a normal burglary, but it was. And he was furious that the state had portrayed his relationship with poor Ina as inappropriate.

She was just a child. That's right. She was just a child when y'all met. She was six. And Nathan said he was just her mentor. And he added that when the state accused him of murdering his wife on Valentine's Day as a gift to Ina, that that was the harshest statement in the whole trial. He said that it was difficult for him to decide what's more sickening.

the person who would do it or the person who would suggest it. Regarding that damning note that was found in Denise's day planner, Nathan said his wife never expressed those feelings to her friends, her parents, or her sister. She never called the cops or sought counseling. Well, maybe she was embarrassed. Not everyone wants to air their dirty laundry. Nathan explained that if Denise had felt threatened,

why didn't she just get a restraining order against him? Denise didn't pursue a restraining order against him. restraining order because there was nothing seriously wrong. He didn't want her dead, according to him. And Nathan talked about how he felt when he heard the guilty verdict. He said he had the same feeling in the pit of his stomach as he did on Valentine's Day when he learned that Denise had been killed. Yeah, probably because now it's his life that's being taken away. And Nathan's sentencing hearing, the judge criticized him for 30 minutes for his actions. The way that he murdered Denise inside her family home was shameful. While giving her victim impact statement, Diane expressed the disgust

she felt and Nathan's actions. She described her son-in-law as repulsive and evil and said that he's stolen their daughter from them. He actually filed a motion to retain custodial rights over his three children, Seth, Julia, and Janelle. Well, Diane and Doug Denise's mother and father were given custody. And Nathan's motion was denied. Poor Diane and Doug had to explain to their grandchildren what happened why Nathan was going to jail, that he was convicted of murdering their mother. And you know, Seth, their oldest child, well, he said to his grandparents, everyone makes mistakes. Well, Doug explained that his father had made a very bad decision and how everyone is given choices in life. And Nathan made some extremely poor ones. And that's to say the least.

How sad is it for these poor children? And I saw that just eight weeks ago, someone commented on that Faith Baptist Church post from back February 19, 2013, in regard to what happened, Denise. Remember that one? I showed it to you. The one that said that they were taking up an offering

for a fund that was set up for the children. Well, someone named Jeff Milot, he commented. He said, Nathan stole the fund money for the kids and gave it to his mistress after he murdered Denise. Wow. Who knows? I mean, it's probably true. Considering that he was also collecting funds from the church and he was spending it on trips and dinners and hotels, so I would not be surprised. Diane Newton's heart is still breaking. It breaks for her husband who's still coping with their daughter's murder,

and it breaks for the children who have to live without their mother and even their father since he's in jail. Diane said that Doug used to always brag to everyone about how perfect his life was. and how happy he was with his children and the families they built. The Newton family never anticipated anything like this what happened to them. But now, Diane knows bad things can always happen even to good people. And it's true. I'm so sorry for what happened to Denise. I'm so sorry to her family.

I'm hoping somehow her children have been able to find peace through all of this. And I want to thank all of you for watching this video and giving Denise your time to hear her story. I will see you in my next one. All right, class, settle down. Today's lesson is on the Arco Rewards app. Try to stay with me. The fundamentals are simple. Earn at least five cents a gallon in rewards,

then redeem them later for up to a dollar off every gallon. Now here's where it gets complicated. Oh, wait, it doesn't. It's as simple as downloading the Arco Rewards app to get started. Class dismissed. Savings of up to $1 per gallon redeemable with $2 rewards dollars in your law. the account at participating locations terms and conditions apply bye