Lester Holt

He swore to them that they were just decoration.

He didn't know how they were all in a pile, that they were never, ever used.

The family knew that was a lie and suspected Delbert was trying to cover up something.

Did you think maybe Delbert then had put all the lanterns together on purpose?

There was no other explanation for it.

Jessica's mom, Sharon, took her suspicions about Delbert to the Goliad Sheriff's Department.

And, you know, she's like, I really would like for y'all to look into this.

They took her, her statement.

But neither the sheriff nor the fire marshal saw reason to reopen the investigation.

Delbert had an ironclad alibi.

He had been at work when the fire started, a 20-minute drive away.

There was no way he could have set the fire.

The case remained closed.

What was your mom's reaction when she's being told all of this?

She wasn't going to let them stop her.

Your mom was just getting started?

And she was going to hear from an unlikely source who seemed ready to help.

And he blurted out that if I left him, that he would do the same thing to me that he did to Patricia.

The investigation into the fire that killed Patricia Lee was officially closed, but her family had questions and suspicions.

They thought her husband, Delbert, was somehow to blame.