It seemed like a clear-cut case of murder in the first-degree: after all, the victim not only had a major head wound, she'd also been set ablaze.

Colleen Dropps: That is somebody that has absolutely no emotion. How can you do that to someone you profess to love?

But this case turned out not to be so straightforward. The key question in the November, 2005 trial of Gordon Weaver -- exactly what caused his wife's death? The gash in her head? Or the fire? This was far more than a legalistic, academic argument. Hanging in the balance was whether or not Gordon Weaver -- the one-time runner who'd been caught -- would go to prison for the rest of his life.

Shannon Prather covered the trial for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. She said prosecutors described what they believe happened in the Weavers’ basement: Gordon was so angry about Jean wanting a divorce, he attacked her, pushing her onto a cement wash basin, causing a deep gash in her head and rendering her unconscious. He then lit her on fire.

This, they argued, was the act of a cold-blooded killer.

Shannon Prather: Instead of calling 911, instead of rendering aid, he left his wife, who was severely injured and bleeding, face down on -- you know, cold, hard concrete of the basement floor. And picked up chemicals and poured it on her body and lit a match.

The prosecution told the jury that tests conducted at the time revealed that, indeed, smoke inhalation, not the head wound, killed Jean.

Shannon Prather: They relied heavily on the medical examiner's testimony. She took the stand and she describes, first of all, that they had found soot in her airways and her nose, past her vocal cords. They said it was proof that she would -- was breathing for at least 10 minutes after the fire, which means the head wound hadn't been immediately fatal.

An intentional act, prosecutors contended, by a calculating man who set the fire to cover his tracks and ensure that his wife died.

Shannon Prather: They argued that Gordon Weaver was meticulous, that he was not a spontaneous person that he was not hard-wired to be that way. He planned everything in his life.

The state argued the motive was control. His wife, Jean, wanted a divorce and the prosecutor's theory was: if Gordon Weaver couldn't have Jean, no one could -- not even the couple's son Sean.

What's more, prosecutors said, the defendant had practically admitted guilt by running away.

But, the defense argued that this wasn't murder but manslaughter, little more than an accident. How could that be? They said Gordon Weaver never intended to kill his wife, and they put Gordon himself on the stand to try to prove that. It would be the first time he'd spoken publicly about that October morning in 1999.

And testifying, his defense team said, was proof that he was coming clean about what happened that day.

Sara James: Is he a cold-blooded murderer?

Friedberg: No, absolutely not.

Gordon Weaver wouldn't speak to Dateline, but his attorney Joseph Friedberg -- considered one of the best in the Twin Cities -- would.

Friedberg says the couple got into a spat about Jean's decision to spend the weekend at her sister's, when Gordon wanted her to attend their son's soccer game.

The attorney showed the jury this animated reenactment of what Gordon says happened next.

Friedberg: He said he got annoyed at her and he pushed her with his forearm. She stepped back from the push. She put her hand out behind her and she grabbed onto one of these collapsible dowel driers, which collapsed causing her to fall backwards in an unprotected fall. Her back of her head hit the concrete washbasin that was right behind her. Her brain herniated and impacted her brain stem.

Friedberg says when Gordon saw what he'd done, he became desperate.

Friedberg: He was shocked. There was blood all over the place. He got down. He picked her up. He felt for her pulse. He could detect neither breathing nor a pulse.

Sara James: Why doesn't he call 911?

Friedberg: Because he panicked. He thought she was dead -- which is another reason for not calling 911. Not a good one, but a reason. He panicked and that's when he burned the house down.

Video   Defense's scenario Gordon Weaver's legal defense created an animation to depict their theory of how wife Jean Weaver could have died. Dateline NBC

This wasn't premeditated, Friedberg argues, but an impulsive act.

Sara James: That's a pretty big panic. This isn't a teenager; this is a grown man.

Friedberg: It's a big panic. Bad choice, but it's our position that that isn't what killed his wife. If Gordy Weaver had called 911, they wouldn't have been able to save her - that's for sure - because that was a fatal head injury. She'd have never survived the injury.

So as despicable as it was to set the fire, Friedberg told the jury, legally, it was irrelevant because Jean had died from the head wound and Gordon hadn't meant to kill his wife when he pushed her. That meant this wasn't first-degree murder, but unintentional manslaughter.

Sara James: I'm sure that the prosecution was able to say, "Look, this is a guy who's lied all these times -- why should we believe his version of events?"

Shannon Prather: The prosecution said, "’Lliar' seems like a strong word but that's exactly what this man is. And he's a shrewd liar. The best lie is the one closest to the truth."

So who would the jury believe? And what would they decide? After more than 24 hours of deliberation, the jury, in effect, split the difference.

Gordon Weaver was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison. But that verdict was overturned on appeal, largely due to questions about lab testing used by prosecutors in their case. Gordon Weaver has been granted a new trial. Given that he's a proven flight risk, he remains in prison.

Despite the heartache Gordon Weaver, aka David Carson, created, first and foremost in Minnesota and then in Oregon, he still has his defenders. And not just his own mother and father, who were both charged with aiding an offender.

His mother admitted in court they had helped their son and was sentenced to community service, while the case against his father was dropped because of a medical condition.

In Oregon, Jaime Jaramillo's daughter, who says the break-up of her family was inevitable, still speaks fondly of her one-time lover who abandoned his own son but helped raise her two boys.

Joconda Nielson: I'm grateful to that he came to our family because he helped me to change and grow. He helped my boys to become young, wonderful men.

And her mom appears even more devoted. She has moved to Iowa, her home state, which happens to be closer to Gordon Weaver's prison cell, and she often visits him there.

Such support is impossible to comprehend for Jean's sisters.

Kathy Rysgaard: I think Gordon Weaver is a monster.

Sara James: In his writings, he wrote, "Jean has forgiven me."

Kathy Rysgaard: My sister would never forgive him for taking her away from her son whom she adored. She would never forgive him for trying to destroy our family.

Colleen Dropps: He just took one of the most precious people. He just yanked her away from us.

Kathy Rysgaard: It is destruction to lose someone like that.

No date has been set for Gordon Weaver's new trial. Because of the Constitutional protection against double jeopardy, Weaver can't face any charge more severe than the one he was convicted of in the first trial: Second-degree unintentional murder.

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