When firefighters pulled Jean Kilduff Weaver out of her basement that October Saturday in 1999, the choking, black oily smoke made it instantly appear she must have died of smoke inhalation.

But when firefighters lifted the limp woman, they discovered she also had a life-threatening injury.

Kathy Rysgaard: She had that terrible head wound.

Jean Weaver had a massive, deep bloody gash in the back of her head. Had someone attacked her?

Kathy Rysgaard: My husband saw her and said her shirt was ripped.

What's more, it quickly became obvious that this fire was no accident. Chemical accelerants had been poured around the basement -- including directly onto Jean herself.

That day, Jean's relatives tried to locate her husband, Gordon. They called the indoor golf and tennis club he owned.

Sara James: And what did Gordy say?

Colleen Dropps: He, according to my husband, just acted really matter of fact and said, "Well, you know, he left that morning at such and such a time and she was getting ready to leave -- he didn't know anything about it."

Sara James: Didn't act at all--

Colleen Dropps: No, just totally acted normal.

The police questioned Gordon, who told them he knew nothing about any of it. His wife had been perfectly fine when he'd left for work that morning.

But police didn't believe him. Neither did Jean's sisters.

Kathy Rysgaard: I said to the first cop on the scene, "Her husband has done this."

Sara James: What made you so sure?

Kathy Rysgaard: Because that she had told him she wanted a divorce and that he was a control freak. And I bet anything he went - he was mad that she was going away that weekend. And he went to confront her and he was mad and I think he shoved her so hard. After she was unconscious, he saw his chance. He set the house on fire. He set her on fire.

Jean's sisters say there was another reason they were suspicious of their sister's husband -- timing.

They say while Jean initially agreed to Gordon’s request to reconsider getting a divorce -- on Oct. 13, three days before the fire -- she'd told them she'd warned Gordon that his time was up.

Colleen Dropps: Unlike in August when he had been very upset about it, he was very calm and matter of fact that Wednesday morning. And he said, "You know, this isn't what I want."

Sara James: Why didn't he want it? Given the way they were living, why would he want to go on that way?

Colleen Dropps: We thought maybe it had to do with the fact that he was struggling in his business and she was supporting the family. That it was a control issue. He didn't want - he didn't want her to be the one that left him.

The sisters say that Gordon’s golf and tennis club was in financial trouble. They believe he was counting on his wife's income from her new job to make ends meet. What would he do when she divorced him?

Kathy Rysgaard: I just can't get over the fact that my sister was treated like a piece of trash by him.

Police wasted no time. Two weeks later, they arrested Gordon Weaver for second-degree murder and first-degree arson.

Surprisingly, he was granted bail -- he wouldn't have to await trial in jail. Then it looked like the charges were going to be even more serious.

Just before he was to be indicted for first-degree murder in March 2000, he disappeared. The last trace of him? His mother's car, which he had been driving. Police found it abandoned, 400 miles away in suburban Chicago -- with blood inside. At a nearby hotel, police also found some of his personal items: clothing and medication for depression.

Colleen got the news when she was at her brother Rich's house.

Colleen Dropps: I was totally shocked. I can still remember that day. Rich got the phone call and turned around and said, "They can't find him. He's gone."

Gordon Weaver was not only gone, but his parents said they feared he was dead. In December that year, his mother sent out this Christmas letter in which she wrote what they thought had happened.

It read: "In October of 1999 a fall and a fire in their home took Jean's life... Gordy suffered deep depression which was exacerbated when he was charged in Jean's death and faced multiple legal complications. In March, while on a trip to Illinois, he disappeared... We do not believe that he is still living...”

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