Trial Verdict and Sentencing

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We've got all the links in our episode notes The opinions expressed in the following episode do not necessarily reflect those of the Minds of Madness podcast Listener disiscretion is advised During is seen enough during his years as a deputy sheriff to know that sometimes the worst calls come late at night Retirement was supposed to change all of that Thursday february twenty ninth, twenty twenty four in Pine City, Minnesota and gone that night Mark and his wife Deborah weren't expecting any calls Especially not the kind that could rip their family apart Dustin had called my wife. I knew she was on the phone. I did not know who she was speaking with thirty seven year old Dustin Duran was their middle son Currently, more than a thousand miles away in northern New Hampshire She'd been living there for the past month Trying to navigate a complicated and often contentious custody arrangement with Kaitln Nafsegger, the mother of his two young daughters Originally, the plan seemed workable Dustin would take their oldest daughter to New Hampshire first. Settle into the small town of Berlin Then Caitlyn would fly out later with the baby They weren't together anymore, but they were still trying to stay connected for the sake of their children So in January, Dustin left with their oldest child to start over in Berlin A little over a month later, on february twenty seventh, Caitlyn arrived with her other daughter Two days later, the durance phone rang I found out afterwards She came out of the bedroom hysterical and she had informed me Caitlyn had been shot that Dustin had shot Katel At that same moment Dustin was driving west with both their children He told his parents he was going dark that he was turning off his phonone so he couldn't be tracked. before disappearing completely gave them one last instruction You should probably call the police Join me now. As we examine what happened inside that apartment in Berlin, New Hampshire, and how a plan meant to keep a family together ended with one person dead and another on the run The small city of Berlin sits in New Hampshire's north County. It former paper mill town of about nine thousand residents, surrounded by lush mountains and dense forests Known as the city that Trees built It was once the largest paper making town in the entire world Today s line the side streets, and church steeples rise above clusters of weathered millhouses Main Street runs right through the heart of town lined with aging bricks storefronts and multifamily homes The winners are la And this snow is heavy, but the people seem to grow tougher with every storm One of those residents, Detective Sargeant Hrk Benjamin 've been with the Berlin Police Department for about ten years by twenty twenty four february twenty ninth was supposed to be his night off, but that changed when his phone rang about eleven PM I received the first call around eleven PM The initial information I received was that there was a situation at a residence in Berlin in which the information known at that time was there was a male that had contacted his father stating that he had just killed his girlfriend. There were two children that were allegedly with the maail at the time and their whereabouts were unknown gravity of the situation was immediately clear possible homicide and two missing young children As a team leader for the police department's emergency response team Eric dropped everything and went to work. Our team was activated. We responded to a separate location near the residence where we met other personnel from the team The residence we were focused on was ten sixty three Main Street in Berlin. Right along Main Street, it's a residential area, multiple houses, a couple businesses near there, as well as a community park Outside Dustin's apartment, Sergeant Benjamin observed tracks of the snow leading from Dustin's house to an empty garage scene his car was gone Officers turn their attention to the residents Based on the circumstances, we decided to make entry into the residence There was a set of stairs to reach the other apartments in that building And then there was another door straight ahead and that was the main entrance pointing to mis. Duran's apartment. We utilized a rM to get through that door. not knowing exactly what they werere walking into Officers entered the house in tactical formation The apartment was completely black. So it took us a moment to get through the initial entryway until we found the light switches that we turned on We began clearing to make sure again, there was nobody inside, and then we continued going straight into what would be what we'd later find to be a kitchen area. We were able to start to make entry into the right room off the kitchen. and at that point, Deputy Green announced that there was a female victim on the couch with an apparent gunshot wound to the head The worst fears were confirmed. And the living room Couch I found thirty one year old Caitlin Nafiger. Wrapped in her daughter's pink unicorn blanket One foot resting on the coffee table No shoes on her feet. She'd been shot once A single wound to the left temple I went to the female, I checked her to make sure she was in fact deceased. And while I was there, I noted Several things. H body was very cold. The appearance of her skin indicated to me based on training and experience that she hadd been there a while. I also noted a single shell casing to the right of the couch in the living room This wasn't a crime scene anymore It was the starting point of a manhunt Whoever had done this already had a head start Two young children were missing New Hampshire State police knew they needed to act quickly. By early morning on march first, twenty twenty four An Hber alert was issued statewide at four ten AM Officer Joe Velz with the Keeene Police Department, was one hundred and seventy miles south of Berlin when the alert came through An amber alert gone statewide, I believe. The driver, registered owner of the car, Dustin Duran, was identified to us. was believed to be driving a white Subarum Pza was in the company of his two young children and was believed to be armed with at least one handgun An armed man on the run with two children, ages one and four It was the kind of alert that makes every officer pay attention But it wasn't just law enforcement scanning the roads that morning Colyn Campbell, a New Hampshire resident an administrative assistant at her local fire department was jolted awake by an unfamiliar sound from her phone I got woken up to it in the morning. My phone just started making noises I have never heard. And I saw it. I did go back to sleep for a little bit Carolyn went back to sleep. She had no idea she was about to become a part of the story I was going to meet my daughter down in Keene to take a trip up to Vermont Well, actually all the way there if I was looking for a vehicle that they had announced on the Amber alert, a white vehicle with a license plate of V six ninezero two three. I was a dispatcher for the Seriff's Department out in Las Vegas. I couldn't tell a sububaru from a GMC, but I can tell you a license plate and all the there I looked that license plate. And when I got to her house, that was the first thing she said to me, didid you get any amber alert? And I said, I did Carolyn and her daughter agreed to keep an eye out while on their road trap Leaving together at just after ten AM We got in her car to leave to go to Vermont. She was driving. And we got to Chesterfield and we proceeded up a hill And when we're going up the hill, my daughter says, hereere comes a white Subaru. I said, That's it. that's the car And I told her to turn around real quick Step on it, go. just fast. go And we did, we followed And I had called nine hundred eleven justust as we had turned and we're heading down the hill At the moment Carlyn spotted the license plate, everything changed Without hesitation, they turned around and followed. I could see a gentleman driving and he had a baseball cap on. I didn't see anything else other than that. and he was looking in the mirror so I kind of put my phone down on my lap and put it on speaker because I didn't want him to know I was on the phone. They kept going and they turned into the convenient MD. and when they turned in, it heads down towards an Applebe's. and the car stopped right there as the trailed vehicle Carolyn stayed on the line with nine hundred and eleven quietly relaying everything she could see Dispatch quickly pushed the information out to nearby units Officer Joe Vallz was already on the highway when the call came through The initial reporting party had watched the car exit and begin northbound travel along Winchester Street towards the McDonald's. I followed it, preparing to make a motor vehicle stop, but it turned into the Appleby's parking area. It came to a stop in one of the designated parking spaces I exited my cruiser as quickly as I could and raised my gun until it was level with the driver's side window. Dustin Durrn was believed to be armed with at least one handgun, and he may have been involved in a shooting that morning the officers's relief, Dustin didn't resist I could see the driver at the time clearly. I began to give commands. I yelled out to the driver, Let me see your hands. He was compliant. He put his hands on a steering wheel so I could see both of them He exited the car, remained compliant. He walked backwards towards the sounds of our voices. He was put onto his knees and then taken in custody, sretred into handcuffs. Initially, he said, My kids are in the car, something to that effect. He said, there's a pistol in the door backackup arrived within moments. Officer Vales moved quickly to the Subaru Foccus now on the children The infant was in the back and she was just kind of lying in the car seat. she wasn't strapped in or anything like that. She was wearing a diaper, it was overflowing with feces older sibling. She was lying across the passenger side of the back seat, not buckled in. She looked terrified. I opened the door. I asked Officer Panell to hand me a red flannel shirt so that I could wrap the infant up and I took her to my cruiser and I held there until the MS collected her from me. The childildren had been in the back seat of the car for at least the past twelve hours Officers soon discovered they'd been forced to sleep in the car overnight, while parked outside of a gas station along the freeway children were then taken to a hospital doctors found them physically unharmed But the older child had heard what had happened later saying, her ears hurt from the sound of the gunshot When asked what she remembered, she said Mummy and Daddy were fighting. Daddy had hurt her and Mummy, and that Mumy had lots of blood ghost bed on the show before, and I want to give you a quick update. St loving it. Beck and I are on the three D matrix with the adjustable base. 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That's ghostbed d. com slash madness code madness Caitlin Ray Naapziger was thirty one years old when she died on that February night in Berlin Her family described her as small but mighty quiet but fierce, and as brave as they come They nicknamed her Chi. For the strength of her spirit, Sing the Spirit of Chi is a whimsical wanderer Along for the ride Up for the adventure and a multi talented powerhouse Spirit of Chia's joy An lives on in her two beautiful girls Caitlin had been raised in Annoa, Minnesota, along with her twin sister Taylor and her brother Bailey Over the years, she built a life for herself through hard work as both a nanny and a housekeeper During her relationship with Dustin, she often carried the financial weight of the household Because at the end of the day, taking care of her children was always her priority While the children were being examined at the hospital, Detective Michael McLaughlin got his first opportunity to observe his suspect in the Appleby's parking lot. ister Duran was in the back of one of the cruisers and just briefly introduced myself, expecting to have a further conversation with him later on that day. Shortly after meeting him inside the Ken Cruiser that he was ready to talk to someone about what had happened. I would describe mister Duran as being very talkative that morning There's nothing a detective loves more than a talkative suspect And while detective McLaughlin interrogated Dustin later that afternoon. Dustin, sayang like a canary He admitted that he shot Caitln while she was sitting on the couch, holding one of their children He said he tried to take the child from her, but she refused. Then, according to Dustin It was like the line had been crossed. And my mind just snapped afterfter a couple of times of me trying to grab Elloen and her not letting go It was very, very fast, very deliberate I went and grabbed the gun just like grabbed it Chambered it Jelin. pulled her back and shot When Detective McLaughlin asked whether Caitlin had been threatening to harm either him or their daughter at the time of the shooting, Dustin said no And yet, he still believed what he did was justified Justification would later be echoed by Hannah Kinney defender, later assigned to Dustin's case Dustin, a Marine veteran, responded to a threat when he shot Caitlin one time. He saw his daughter being held hostage in front of him. He believed his daughter was in danger, in danger of being hurt, in danger of being up pawn in a custody dispute, in danger of being taken away from him, in danger of being kidnapped From her perspective, it wasn't a confession to murder It was a father describing how he believed he had saved his child. Dustin felt like Caitlyn was holding Ellwn hostage. He kept begging Caitlyn to let go of Elln and Caitlyn refused and kept saying she was taking the kids and he would never see them again He tried to hold one of Caitlyin's wrists while wrapping his arm behind Een so that he could free Ellen from Caitlyn's bear hug. Caitlin did not let go and instead got more aggressive She braced her foot against the living room table and pulled back hard Hello and screamed Piercing cry like she was in pain. Immediately, everything felt extremely dire T Dustin. Like Ellen was in immediate danger Hearing Aloen' scream was like a tick The only thing he was thinking was that he had to save Ellwen. In an autonomous motion, like he had been trained by the military, he grabbed his gun He had no thoughts in his head other than he needed to save Ellwen. He acted instinctually automatically and reflexively. In less than three seconds, he grabbed the gun Hold Ewen out of the way and eliminated the threat, shooting Caitlin in the head According to Dustin What happened that night wasn't just about a single moment. It was the result of everything that came before H time in the Marines custody situation that it escalated beyond control. Dustin Duran describes his life and the path that led him to Berlin So I enlisted right out of high school. so a week after I graduate high school at eighteen, I left for bootcamp. Right away in bootcamp, I was graduated as the battalion high shooter. In our marksmanship course, I was the highest shooter out of our entire graduating class So I was first deployed to Japan and ended up teaching hundreds of Marines to perfect their shooting proficiency with a rifle or pistol It gets instilled in you to where I guess you could say you could do it in your sleep. It's just so ingrained in you. They really want you to do it with Basically without conscious thought. like it just it's so drilled in you over and over to eliminate threats. Dustin served in the Pacific and in combat zones in the Middle East, including Iraq twenty eleven He was honorably discharged. transition back to civilian life Proved difficult I have severe depression, specifically bouts of severe depression, which affects really just everyday life to include just everything even from like maintaining jobs, stuff like that. I moved to Los Angeles, California. That's where I got my degree in audio engineering and then I was almost immediately hired at Foxports as a post production audio engineer. But I ended up moving to Las Vegas, Nevada, and that made sense just for my work as an event technician Despite his professional success, Dustin's mental health continued to deteriorate And after a suicide attempt, His parents stepped in to help My parents were trying to convince me to live with them, to come back to Minnesota and basically just try to take care of myself, take care of my health, and just be with family for a while. Eventually, I agreed and moved back to Minnesota and this would have been November December of twenty eighteen It was steering a low point in Dustin's life when he met Caitlyn In february, twenty nineteen, their paths crossed It was at a bar and I remember it specifically because the Super Bowl was on The Traction between them was immediate And within weeks Everything changed Caitlyin was pregnant I think I found out in it's probably April twenty There was a mix of emotions. so this was not planned. was. pect So I was kind of anxious about it, but at the same time, I got pretty excited about just having a family, starting a family. It probably was around that time april, twenty nineteen in which she moved in with me at my parents' house They prepared for their child, Caitlin moved into Dustin's parents' home in Minnesota. Birth in december twenty nineteen, the couple relocated to Las Vegas For the next several years, they tried to build a life there Caitlin worked as an Anian housekeeper. Dustin struggled to maintain steady employment It was around this time that he was formally diagnosed with PTSD But the life in Las Vegas wasn't what Caitlin had hoped for. And before long, she wanted to leave She didn't really like Nevada I did, but I basically was saying okay, if you don't want to live here, convince me where we should move And over the course of probably about a year and a half, we went over just a bunch of different places to move to. She had suggested early on about New Hampshire specifically because Her aunt, Brenda lived here. She thought she could get work through her. And that was eventually what we decided on. This would have been twenty twenty three morning january, twenty twenty three Justin and Caitlyin's youngest child was still an infant when they began preparing for their move to New Hampshire Then. One day, Caitlin disappeared At least, that's how Dustin tells it She ended up just going outside with the stroller like she was going to the park. So Ellmen was at daycare at this point. and so she took Valen out into the stroller and just was kind of walking like going to the park which was normal. We went to the park all the time. She didn't take anything. She just left like she's going to the park. and a couple hours go by, she hadn't come back or I didn't hear anything. so I ended up going to the park and no one was there. So I texted her, Where is she? and she responded that she was at the airport with Valen. Dustin This wasn't a change of plans It was a blindsided kidnapping Without any warning. Caitlin had taken their infant and returned to Minnesota leaving Dustin in the dark and completely alone Well completely alone All of Caitlin's belongings were still in their home in Las Vegas She left taking practically nothing And one of their children remained with him just three years old at the time did not want Elloen and Valen to grow up separately. So I ended up moving back in with my parents. She was living with a friend of hers. We're split in custody to where there'd be times to where she was with her with Caitn. The girls were with Caitlin and then times where they were with me and my parents Now Before we go any further, it's important to remember This is Dustin's version of events, and he's the only one left to tell it But even within his account There were signs that something more was happening beneath the surface Chust for a mother to leave like that Suddenly, without warning Something had already gone wrong Acording to those who knew them been troubling incidents over time. Allegations of physical altercations cllaims that Caitlin had been strangled and reports that she was afraid afraid enough that when she returned to Minnesota She refused to share her address H family described someone who felt increasingly isolated and increasingly unsafe in that fear M help explain what happened next The Minds of Madness is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash Progressive makes it easy. Just drop in some details about yourself and see if you're eligible to save money when you bundle your home and auto policies. The process only takes minutes and it could mean hundreds more in your pocket. Visit progressive. com after this episode to see if you could save Progressive casualty insurance company and affiliates, potential savings will vary, not available in all states In business, the best days are when priorities stay on track. For midsize and large companies, that means managing risk across the enterprise, from property and liability to cyber and beyond. The Hartford helps businesses put risk control first, building it into how they operate, so they're better prepared before something happens and better protected when it does. Prepare for risk, prrotect success. Smart risk management from the Hartford Learn more at the Hartford d. com slash risk mitigation policies provided by Hartford Fire insurance company and its property and casual affiliates Hartford Connectic Justin's point of view This is where things begin to come back together I asked her just point blank, Hey, can we just continue our trip to New Hampshire? And she immediately said yes, which kind of surprised me because I thought I would have to try to convince her somehow, but she just immediately said yes. And from that point on, that's when we started planning to eventually move. to continue the move that planned to New Hampshire Thereing to move forward didn't mean they were getting back together Caitlin made that clear plan was that we would live separately. I would go out there first with Ellon, get the place secured and kind of get set up and then Kaitln would then fly out with Valen and we worked it out to where she would drop Valen off to me. and then she would go back to Minnesota just to kind of get money and just kind of work on what she needed to do free of not having to worry about girls And then once she got some money secured then moving a few months later when her aunt Brenda would have seasonal work for her Dustin went ahead to New Hampshire with one child Caitlyn stayed behind with the other But within weeks, he began to question whether she was coming at all She was really having money issues, and so she was continually asking for more and more money. she wanted to put Eleon and Valin on her taxes And I didn't even say no, but she just didn't even like that response. So she started making a lot of threats. She was going to say that I kidnapped Ellwn and took her to New Hampshire without her permission. along with that, just threatening that she would take the girls away from me and I'd never see them again. So at that point, I wasn't sure what was happening. Now it sounded like she was not going to bring Falen to New Hampshire That wasn't the full picture Caitllyn would later tell her aunt. that she agreed to the arrangement. But only because she was afraid of what might have happened if she didn't Eventually Dust and relented. Okay, you can claim Ellen and Valin on your taxas. If I just say that that's okay, will you still bring Valin to New Hampshire She said yes, that we would all meet. so Kalin and me, Alloen, Valen, and Brenda we would all sit down, have dinner together, and then Kaalin and Brenda would then leave leaving Valen and Ellen with me H youngest daughter arrived in Boston on february twenty seventh From there, they travel north to Seabrook, New Hampshire to stay with their anunt Frenda hadn't seen her niece in some time But they were close kindind of family that always found their way back to each other We have a holiday called Thanksmas and we do everything that we've always done Christmas to Thanksgiving in one week and all the family gets together. And so she was there for that as was Her mom and husband and other family members. That night, as they spent time together Brenda noticed something right away. What a good mom she was. and how relaxed the relationship was and just how happy she was. Both of them But as the evening went on, The visit began to take a different tone. Caitln hadn't come to New Hampshire just to reconnect. There was a plan According to the defense It was something she had kept from Dustin. Caitln had other plans, secret plans she did not share with Dustin Brenda and Caitln came up with a plan to take the kids from Dustin While Caitlyin was visiting with her aunt Brenda, she agreed to bring Caitlyin and Balen to meet up with Dustin and Ellen, drop them off, and wait a day or two for Caitlyn to call her for a ride back with both of the girls. Caitlyn would sneak the two kids out while Dustin was sleeping And Brenda would pick them up and take Caitlyn and her kids to the airport to fly back to Minnesota. Caitlyn already had a return ticket to Minnesota, and Brenda was going to buy a ticket for Ellen. And Valn was young enough that she could sit on her mom's lap The plan included contingencies and code words Is something went wrong Brenda would drive to Berlin herself and bring Caitlyin and the children back Brenda later confirmed that plan We were waiting for Caitln to call us. and tell us How she needed a ride and that we would meet her wherever we needed to meet her And if by Saturday we hadn't heard from her that we were just going to go to Berlin and wait to hear from her so that we would be closer and ready The next day, february twenty eighth Brenda and a friend drove them about ninety minutes north. to a restaurant halfway between Seaburok and Berlin This is where Caitlyin would meet Dustin She specifically asked that we not come in We left as she was we parked far away in the parking lot and left as she was walking through the parking lot. I mean, it was quite a sad sight and Shannon and I both cried. You know She's such a small person and she had this enormous suitcase and Um You know, she had the baby in the car seat and she was just like lougging it, I just felt awfulful for leaving her there According to Dustin, things felt off almost immediately He hadn't expected Caitlyin to arrive alone believed they would meet together Have a meal go their separate ways Caitlin started talking to Ellen and asking her to see her new house So at that point, I was taking it like she wanted to come back to the house. I'm really confused because she explicitly said she did not want to come back to the house What was going on? Like why was all of a sudden the plan changing? I was hesitant, but I just agreed, okay, fine, you can come back for the night, but it would just be for the night, just the one night. Got in my car and drove to the house in Berlin Despite his hesitation, he agreed to let her come back to the apartment. justust for the night That night passed peacefully enough, and Caitlyin didn't make a break for it with the children. Code worords to Brenda No calls to nine hundred and eleven Maybe she got cold feet Or maybe, Dustin's habit of playing video games into the morning hours never gave her the chance Maybe she just changed her mind altogether We'll never know for sure The next morning, the family went to the library for children's story time They ate lunch together at home The D went on, somethingomething shifted Dustin said Caitlyn stopped responding to him, avoiding questions about what came next. Every so often, I would go to the room just to ask, Hey, what's going on? Is Brenda picking you up here? Are we meeting her somewhere? Just what what's the plan? What is going on? She was not responding. She was completely ignoring me. justust kept playing with the girls. So about maybe every fifteen minutes, a half an hour, I would come back and ask again, hey, what's going on? What is the plan? And she just kept ignoring me. And one of the things that's in the back of my head, which is why I'm bringing up these stories in the first place, is that the last time she was ignoring me and not telling me what was going on was when she stole Valin out of Nevana At first He said he kept asking Th startarted to grow frustrated late afternoon. Dustin says he reached his limit She finally gets up and goes to the couch in the living room and she's on her phone. So at this point Like I'm I'm obviously pretty frustrated. At this point, I'm just saying, okay, you know what? you're not responding. We're clearly not getting anywhere here. So then I'm making the decision. that then I'll drive you all the way back. to Hampton, I'll drive you the three hours or whatever it is all the way back there, but we need to leave now. You can't be here any longer. We need to leave now According to Dustin That's when things begin to feel wrong She's sitting on her phone. I don't know who she's texting. L, did people come to New Hampshire with her? I don't know. Was she texting other people to like come to the house and that's why she didn't want to leave? Something was happening, somethingomething was seriously wrong. So at this point, I get Valin and I start putting her in the car seat. and so I'm putting her in the car seat in front of kitchen And this is when Caitlyn gets up from the couch, grabs Elloine and then takes her back to the couch Dustin began gathering things preparing to leave when he said Caitlin intervened. taking hold of one of the children telling him, she wasn't going anywhere And at this point I go up and I try to grab Ellen. And what ends up happening is she pulls back on Ellen and sort of yanks her out of out of my reach, like away from me So she yanks her back and I immediately step back Whoa, whoa, whoa What is going on What are you doing? Let let Elloen go Minds of Madness is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy. Just drop in some details about yourself and see if you're eligible to save money when you bundle your home and auto policies. The process only takes minutes, and it could mean hundreds more in your b Pocket. visit progressive. com after this episode to see if you could save Progressive casualty insurance company and affiliates, potential savings will vary, not available in all states. In business, the best days are when priorities stay on track. For midsize and large companies, that means managing risk across the enterprise from property and liability to cyber and beyond. The Hartford helps businesses put risk control first, building it into how they operate, so they're better prepared before something happens and better protected when it does. Prepare for risk, prrotect success. Smart Risk Magement from the Hartford Learn more at the Hartford d. com slash risk mitigation policies provided by Hartford Fire insurance company and its property and casualty affiliates, Hartford Connectic What happened next depends entirely on who you believe Dustin claimed, Caitlin began making demands and threatening that he would never see the children again. She's making these demands for just a substantial amount of money There's no way that I could pay her and I'm telling her this like I can't get you this kind of money. L I don't have this kind of money. I'm paying you what I can. I'm sending you what I can. I can't pay this And then at this point, this is where she's saying now threatening then oh, if I can't pay her, then she's going to say that I kidnapped Ellwin from Minnesota without her permission, and that she was going to call the cops and have me arrested And that then I would never see the kids again Now, here's where it gets a bit interesting. iss Kaitlin's alleged financial demands on the night of the shooting never appeared in Dustin's original confession to police detectives that she threatened to take both the children back to Minnesota and set Caitlin and asked for money in the past. This portrait of an active hostage and a ransom scenario inside his apartment that night This detail only emerged in later versions of his story So I'm now seeing a potential threat I'm seeing My child being restrained to where I can't get to her I'm thinking of all the suspicious stuff that has been happening. There's some sort of plan going on, but I don't know about withith these threats now and her not leaving. likeike something is seriously wrong, somethingomething is seriously happening and with her Now holding Elloin hostage and making these demands I'm seeing a potential threat and then she just continuallyually threats that okay, then you're never going to see the girls again. Jon says he tried to pull the child away multiple times When I try to do this then that's when Caitlin goes full bear hug. She's then squeezing Ellwen harder She's yanking her away like twisting her body and yanking her away from me She puts her knee up, braces it on the table, and is also using her leg to pull Elln back away from me. And just the big thing that happened here is Ellwn screaming, Ellwn yelling. I'm locking eyes with Ellwn and she's crying She just let out this scream and this is where when I'm talking about the line was crossed, this is what I'm talking about. I'm talking about Ellen now physically being hurt in front of me. And that was the line I'm seeing an immediate threat to Ellwn and I have to take action immediately to save Ellwin That's what's what's going through my head. I have to get Ellwin out of this situation immediately Ine. In his words Something changed A line was crossed He says he saw an immediate threat That moment training to go for It was like muscle memory. It was like training coming out to where I didn't have to think I was trained for this and this is what I'm supposed to do The entire thing probably took like three to five seconds, max I take the two steps over, grab the gun as I'm taking probably the three steps back over I'm chambering around into the gun. I grab Elloen by the front of her shirt collar. I pull her forward to get some sort of distance between her and Caitln Pull her forward and then fire It was over in seconds After the shot Dustin gathered both children and laughed And as he trove The reality of what had happened began to set in. This is when I realized What had happened? This wasn't just someone that I shot This was Caitlin. this was someone that I cared about, who was important to me and my family and my kids, this wasn't just some random person. And I immediately felt horrible and I didn't understand what was going on Like, why was this happening? What just happened? Why was this happening I didnid't understand it. And there's this battle in my head of I don't feel like I did something. I don't feel like this is my fault. Like I didn't want this. Like I didn't put this position together. I'm not the one who was holding Ellon hostage in front of me. I'm not the one that like was trying to plan all this stuff But at the same time I still fired the shot I felt this really big just personal Guilt A little over twelve hours later, Dustin was in custody, charged with second degree murder eighteen months later in october twenty twenty five Dustin Duran stood trial in Manchester, New Hampshire At its core, the case came down to a single question Kila Naapsiger, attempting to kidnap her own child, at the moment Dustin pulled the trigger If so The law could justify what he did If not That meant he'd shot and killed an unarmed woman The defense argued, Dustin ad actted to stop an immediate threat The law says that Dustin Duran is not guilty. The law says that Dustin was justified when he shot Caitlin Kapsiger. The law says a person has the right to use deadly force when they reasonably believe that someone is committing or about to commit a kidnap Caitlyn had kidnapped Dustin's child before. She had a plan to kidnap his children again. She told Dustin he would never see his children again, and she was holding Ellwin hostage in front of him. Caitlyn and Brenda had a secret plan to kidnap the kids to unlawfully interfere with Dustin's custodial rights to take both Ellwin and Fhailin to Minnesota without even telling Dustin. Caitlin tells him that unless he pays her two thousand dollars a month, she is taking the children back to Minnesota and he will never see them again. Let's be clear, she is not asking for child support. She is not asking for money to help her take care of the children She is asking for money so that he can have the children. At this point, she's holding Dustin's child hostage holding her for ransom, saying that she'll only release her if he gives her money. And hearing Ellwin's scream is horrific. It's a line that has been crossed. Ellwin is about to be kidnapped. Ellwin is in immediate danger. and so Dustin acts immediately They framed it as a father, responding in real time to what he believed was a kidnapping in progress. The prosecution told a very different story. This was not an accident. This was not defense of others. This wasn't done to prevent a kidnapping. It was murder. And he knows it. And that's why he's changed his story over time. He's taken time to craft what he's wanted to say. It's why he hass changed What he told the police after he was caught to what he testified to on the stand. It's why he's tried to blame Caitlin Naapiger for her death They argued, This wasn't a split second decision But a story that had changed over time And even if the jury set that aside, They urged them to focus on the scene itself Caitlin Nastiger was wrapped up on the sofa In their daughter's pink unicorn blanket, her foot was on the coffee table. She had no shoes on, and there were none close by. She wasn't threatening anyone. She had no gun, no knife, no weapon of any kind, nothing. It's the state's position that there was never any kidnapping Caitlyn was never about to commit a kidnapping. She was not about to do anything. She had made her position clear to him. She was refusing to leave and she was seated on the couch holding their daughter. She wasn't even looking at the defendant. The defendant's bullets entered the left side of her head at her temple. Essentially, the prosecution argued that Dustin was attempting to redefine kidnapping to mean doing what I want The defendant was frustrated, but he became angry. He was angry because she wasn't doing what he wanted. He was angry because they were having the same dispute they'd been having since August of twenty twenty three. He didn't tell the police that she was demanding that he sell his car and give her money He didn't tell the police that before he shot her in those moments, that he'd never see the kids again. These are all statements that he added over a year and a half later in support of his defense. He never once said he had to act to defend anyone, He never once mentioned a kidnapping. Not until yesterday in this courtroom did he make that statement You don't get to hear Caitlyn's story about those last moments of her life. She isn't here because the defendant killed her. There's no justification, no excuse This is not a reasonable use of deadly force. The facts tell you that. The law tells you that. Your common sense tells you that. The defendant shot this unarmed woman in the head while she was sitting on a couch, wrapped in a pink unicorn blanket. He shot her because she refused to leave