All language subtitles for American Greed s14e12 A Fathers Fraud

In this episode of American Greed, Carl
Carlson considers himself a country

gentleman. I think he strived to be the
center of attention.

He runs a sprawling farm. He raises
Belgian draft horses. My father liked to

keep them, and the bigger the better.

And he does it all on a factory worker's
salary.

How? I mean, the whole thing just makes
no sense.

The answer may lie in the so -called
accidents that keep happening.

911, what's the location of your
emergency?

Does anybody need an ambulance?

Accidents that claim the lives of his
son and wife.

She's in there and she's stuck and she's
going to die. I started screaming and I

couldn't even stop.

Accidents that always lead to a hefty
insurance payoff.

Between the cars, the vacations, the
duck farm, I really wondered.

Where he was coming up with the money.
Will the authorities ever confirm what

his terrified children know to be true?

Tonight, the secrets of a man who
sacrifices his loved ones for money.

human being is expendable for a check.

As told by the family members who made
it out alive.

That man doesn't deserve to live.

Dad, he does not deserve to live.

It's 2008 in Berwick, New York, a rural
town nestled in the Finger Lakes region

of the state.

In the rolling fields between Seneca and
Cayuga Lakes sits the farm of Carl

Carlson.

Carlson is a factory worker, but the
farm is his true passion. He raises

draft horses.

Our farm was a hobby farm. We usually
had between 25 and 30 horses on the

The horses can weigh up to 2 ,000 pounds
and cost up to $10 ,000 each.

The impressive horses fit right in with
Carl's self -image.

He's actually very impressed with
himself.

I think he had the tendency to be a
little bit of a storyteller and a

in his own mind. Anything he could do to
draw attention to himself.

Michael Carlson is Carl's older brother.

It's all about him.

And money and his success, his image,
his prestige.

Carlson manages the farm on his own with
occasional help from his four children.

Three are from his previous marriage.

Aaron, the firstborn, son Levi, and
Katie, the youngest.

When times were good with Dad, they were
really good.

So he and I spent an awful lot of time
going across the hayfields on

tractors or, you know.

plowing the snow in the winter, and so
there was a lot of good memories that I

have associated with stuff like that.

Despite his bucolic life, Carlson is
sometimes at odds with his son Levi.

Levi, seen here with his high school
sweetheart Cassie, doesn't fit in to

idealized view of his family.

Levi was into heavy metal. He hated
country western, but Carl loved country

western.

Carl was into country western music,
square dancing.

He very much considered himself a
country gentleman.

Levi, now 23, moves out of his father's
home at age 16.

He hopped for a bit. He would go stay
with friends.

And then he, you know, met and fell in
love with Cassie. He was different. And

he seemed very comfortable with being
different.

I remember the first time I saw him, he
was dressed in his goth gear and his

hair was blue. I found that, like, very
interesting.

Shortly after she graduates high school,
Cassie and Levi marry.

Our daughter was born about six weeks
after we got married.

She was the best thing to ever happen to
him.

He loved her so much.

The two eventually have two daughters,
but the magic doesn't last.

They divorce after a few years of
marriage, but remain on good terms for

kid's sake.

And there was always lots of kisses and
lots of playing, and he was very active

with them.

They were his whole world.

Levi and his father Carl don't have much
contact, but still see each other a few

times a year.

On this day, November 20, 2008, Carl
calls his son and asks if he can help

up his old farm truck.

Levi has a knack for working with cars.

It was a big pickup truck, like one of
those F -250s, something like that. Big

old farm truck.

The truck is a couple of decades old,
but it's a workhorse.

Carlson uses it around the farm often.

Carlson says the truck needs repairs on
its brakes.

He gives Levi 50 bucks for the job.

Levi was very well known for being able
to help where he could.

When it came to helping his father with
things, the way a lot of times that he

saw it was if he was helping, then the
job was getting done.

When Levi arrives at the farm, the truck
is already jacked up and ready for

repairs. The plan is for Levi to do the
work while Carl and his wife Cindy,

Levi's stepmother, attend the funeral of
a relative.

As Cindy waits in their car, Carl speaks
to Levi in the barn.

Then he joins her.

And they drive off.

That was about noontime. Left with his
wife to go to a funeral in Pan Yan.

Went to a reception after the funeral at
the Moose Club. Acted like he always

acted. Laughed and joked because he
always did.

When Carl and his wife Cindy return from
the funeral, they're stunned at what

they find in the barn.

Levi is pinned underneath the truck.

Came home at about 3 .50 p .m.,
discovered his son, and screamed out for

wife to call 911.

911, what's the location of your
emergency?

Yes, I live it.

Levi is dead.

So I was driving to my boyfriend's house
at the time, and halfway there I got a

phone call from my grandpa.

And his exact words were,

Levi's gone.

While Carl is at the funeral,
authorities say the thin, wobbly

that props up the truck falls over.

You know, it sounded like a tragic
accident for everything that was

me, that the jack slipped is what I was
told.

The jack slipped and the truck came down
on him.

Cassie is so stunned she can't even tell
her kids what happened.

It was awful.

It was absolutely awful.

I couldn't even gather myself up enough
to be the one to tell my children my

mother told them.

Carl Carlson says he thinks he's cursed.

This is the second time a close family
member of his has died in a tragic

accident. That was our life growing up.
One bad incident after

another.

Carl Carlson and his family's accidents
is a story that spans several decades

and thousands of miles.

In the early 1980s, Carlson is a cadet
in the Air Force.

While stationed in North Dakota, working
with nuclear missiles, Carlson is drawn

to the wife of a fellow cadet, Christina
Alexander.

Despite her marriage, Carl sweeps
Christina off her feet.

Carl and Christina have this whirlwind.

when they met on the Air Force Base in
North Dakota.

Michael Carlson is two years older than
his brother.

The first time we met her is when they
came home.

We knew nothing about her other than he
called my father and said, I'm going to

be a dad, and oh, by the way, I'm
married. And when they got out of the

he came home with her.

Christina and Carl Carlson settled in
central New York, close to where Carl

up.

Carlson's family is impressed with his
new wife.

She's an amazing young lady.

Great kid.

The sun was always shining in her world.

Just always had a smile on her face.

The couple eventually have three young
children, Aaron, Levi, and Katie.

Carl works at the local stone quarry,
but money is tight.

We were all in the same mode in life.

Young kids ourselves, newly married.

I don't think any one of us had a nickel
to rub between. You know, it's just we

were all trying to survive.

Christina's family lives out west in
central California in the foothills of

Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Her father owns a sheet metal business.
He offers his new son -in -law an

opportunity. You know, I told him, look,
if you ever need a job, come on out to

California and you work with me.

In the late 80s, Christina and Carl take
him up on the offer and relocate to her

hometown of Murphys, California.

Christina's sister, Colette, says Carl
is charming.

He can be very friendly. He can be very
funny.

So my first impression with him was that
he had a great sense of humor and that

he made me laugh a lot.

Christina's father finds a home for the
young family.

I had a house for them that I rented up
above.

Murphy's on the highway or just off the
highway.

So I thought it might be good for them,
you know, save a little bit of money

that they could live in that house for
free. But Carl doesn't like being under

his father -in -law's thumb.

He eventually finds his own home deep in
the woods.

Pretty much like an old miner's shack.

Carl's mother -in -law is appalled.

And when I got there and saw the state
of that house, that wasn't a house, it

was a shack.

Had water from the creek kind of thing.
It was just all time living.

The status of the home was, it was a
downgrade. So I was a little

when she told me they were moving. It
was in not the greatest of condition.

What the family doesn't know is that the
new home would become the site of their

first great tragedy.

Next on American Greed.

I got a phone call from my dad, and he
simply told me there was a fire out at

your sister's house, and your sister
didn't get out.

Situated in the foothills of the Sierra
Nevadas, Murphy's, California, is where

the 49ers hunted for gold.

For Christina and Colette, it was a
great place to grow up.

So we grew up nowhere near a city, very
much outdoors.

For Christina Carlson, the opportunity
to raise her own kids in this

is too good to pass up.

And then when I got the phone call that
they were moving to California, I was so

ecstatic. because now I knew I could be
closer to her.

The kids recall good times at the cabin.

My mom used to take us on walks all the
time, and we would collect leaves or

acorns or whatever and press them into
little books.

We would go downtown Murphy's and go to
the candy shop or the ice cream shop.

We would play the hokey pokey on the
record machine. She'd get out the record

and put it on, and we'd stand in the
living room.

dancing to the hokey pokey.

But shortly after their arrival,
Christina's family notices that all is

right with her marriage to Carl.

So he controlled my sister mentally
because he would tell her that she was

chubby. He knew that because she was so
sensitive about her weight that he could

destroy her self -esteem.

Carl had never allowed Chris to have any
of the holidays with me.

Or go shopping with me unless he was
there.

One year for her birthday, I bought her,
back in the day they had these things

called glamour shots.

And so you would go to the glamour shot
and they would do your makeup and your

hair and make you feel like a princess.

So we get back to my house and we walked
in the door and he looked at her and he

said, you look like a whore, go take
your makeup off.

And she just ran down the hall crying.

The Carlson's cabin is located about
five miles outside of downtown Murphys.

To get to the home, one must drive down
a long, winding road through the

mountains. They had one car, so he would
take the car.

My sister and the kids were stranded out
at this house, and it's not walkable,

so she was stuck out there completely by
herself.

Collette says that Carl also physically
abuses her sister.

She called me up one time and...

She said he knocked her so hard she flew
all the way across the room. And I

said, you need to get out.

Like, you have got to get out of here
because it's getting worse.

And she said, Colette, I don't want to
be divorced twice. And how am I going to

take care of my kids?

The sisters keep their conversations to
themselves.

I knew I couldn't react because if I had
said anything, he'd have taken it out

on my sister.

In 1990, Christina's family goes to her
mother's house outside Sacramento for

Christmas. But Arlene says the holiday
visit is odd.

Even though the drive is just an hour
and a half long, Christina and her

have never made the trip before.

On Christmas Eve, they came down for the
very first time and all the time that

Chris lived there in Murphy's.

And I was puzzled by it.

I thought, Something is not right.

She says Carl's demeanor is pleasant
during the visit, but something is off,

she can't put her finger on it. And I
knew something was going wrong, but I

didn't know what it was.

Christmas was the last time I saw her.

One week later, on New Year's Day in
1991, Christina Carlson and her family

back home at their cabin outside
Murphys, California.

The family is enjoying a lazy New Year's
Day.

Despite being just six years of age at
the time, oldest daughter Erin remembers

the day vividly.

So I remember that we were playing.

My dad rounded the three of us up. He
took us out to the yard.

He had our Christmas tree out in the
gravel driveway, and he said he wanted

to see how quick a house could burn. So
he put some fuel over it and lit it up,

and we just kind of stood there and
watched it.

Erin says that she and her two siblings
go back into the cabin to take their

afternoon naps.

Erin shares a room with little sister
Katie. While lying in bed, she recalls

hearing her mother yelling.

So I woke up and I went over to our
bedroom door and it had been left ajar

could see that there was fire on the
other side of the door.

The tiny cabin is on fire.

Erin wakes up her little sister Katie
and runs toward the bedroom window, but

discovers that it's blocked by a
dresser.

She says the dresser usually sits in the
closet.

A dresser had been placed in front of
the window, one of the windows in our

room, and I tried to push it out of the
way, and I was too young to make it

move, but I gave it a go.

And shortly after that, my father
actually broke through the window and

the dresser out of the way.

Carl Carlson pulls the two girls out of
the window.

We had had a pickup truck that was in
the driveway, and he put us in the truck

and, you know, told us to stay down, not
to turn around and look. And shortly

thereafter, he came back with my
brother.

The children's mother, Christina
Carlson, is still in the house.

She is taking a bath when the fire
breaks out. The fire is raging in the

just outside the bathroom.

She's trapped.

But as a child, like, I didn't
understand what was happening. I knew

fire, but it never really crossed my
mind that, you know, oh, my gosh, like,

mom is, she's in there, and she's stuck,
and she's going to die.

Erin says her father runs to the
bathroom window to try rescuing her

the window is boarded shut.

The glass pane was previously broken,
and Carl temporarily patched it with

plywood.

He walked into the house, and he was
kind of kicking at the concrete

And then turned around and came back
after, you know, a few minutes.

He was just kind of standing there
watching.

Christina Carlson doesn't make it.

She's overwhelmed by smoke and dies in
the bathroom.

Before emergency crews even reach the
cabin, Erin says her father tells the

that their mother is gone.

At the time, I didn't understand. He
told us that Mommy had gone to heaven,

I didn't understand really what that
meant.

Next on American Greed, without their
mother around, the kids say Carl focuses

his rage on them.

He would utilize physical punishment as
a mental punishment. So he would

have me carry 10 -gallon buckets full of
water back and forth from the barn to

the house until my body would give out.

It's New Year's Day, 1991, in Central
California.

Word of Christina Carlson's tragic death
spreads to her family.

I got to my mom's house, went in, told
her husband, I need to tell you

something, it's not good.

And I looked at her eyes, and I still
remember to this day.

I started screaming, and I couldn't even
stop.

And Colette kept rubbing my back and
getting me to...

Calm down.

It's pretty hard to calm down when
you're just told your daughter died in

fire. When Collette and her mother
arrive in Murphys, they soon find Erin,

Christina's oldest daughter.

And she goes, Hi, Aunt Collette. Did you
know Mommy's in heaven with baby Jesus?

And her next words were, I heard Mommy
calling for Daddy.

And Daddy didn't do anything.

Colette says Carl is casually leaning
against the wall.

I said, I want to go see my sister. And
he said, you can't.

And I said, why not?

And he said, she's a crispy critter.

It's not only diabolically cruel, it's
untrue.

Fire investigators say the flames never
actually made it into the bathroom.

Investigators say Christina dies from
smoke inhalation.

The broken window that was nailed shut
with plywood sealed Christina's fate.

This here is a good bathroom where
Christina was found.

And I realized that this fire that came
through the house, it didn't burn up the

bathroom where my sister was.

So this whole she's a crispy critter
thing is not resonating even worse at

point. Like, this is, something's wrong.

Investigators say spilled kerosene in
the hallway outside the bathroom likely

started the fire.

With the cabin's sparse accommodations,
kerosene was needed in the house to keep

it heated.

A kerosene heater, spam heater, sits on
the floor.

Supposedly the kerosene had been spilled
and maybe the dog. I never have heard

for sure how it ignited. And I knew
there was a spill on the carpet. My

had put blankets and towels down like we
were kids, right? So we were climbing

this blanket mountain and having the
time of our lives because it was in the

middle of the hallway.

Investigators ruled the fire an
accident.

The insurance company gives Carl Carlson
a $215 ,000 payout for his wife's

death.

Just a few days after the incident, Carl
is gone.

So we did a memorial service that was
four days after she had passed away.

And that night, or the next day, Carl
and the kids were on a plane

to New York.

The kids are young.

Erin's the oldest at six.

Christina's family doesn't even get a
chance to say goodbye to them.

And our side of the family was really
shocked by that.

I mean, those are our grandchildren too,
okay?

So two weeks later, we did actually bury
my sister.

Carl didn't come back for that.

Investigators in Calaveras County still
want to talk to Carl about the fire.

But unfortunately, due to budget
limitations, they're unable to fly to

and question Carl further.

Cal Fire also dropped the ball. The Cal
Fire investigator asked to interview

Carl in New York, and they said there
wasn't enough money. Their investigation

hits a dead end and is dropped.

Christina's family is devastated and
confused by the sequence of events.

He murdered her. There was no doubt in
our mind that he did this, and he did it

for the insurance money.

But we had to come to terms with the
fact that he got away with it.

Meanwhile, in central New York, Carl
Carlson begins rebuilding his life.

Using the insurance money from
Christina's death, he purchases a farm

raises Belgian draft horses.

He marries a woman named Cindy Best.

As the kids grow up in their new home,
old ghosts come back to haunt their

lives. Without their birth mother
around, the kids say Carl begins taking

his frustrations on them.

When my father was going to beat us, he
would send us all to our rooms, right,

so that there really wouldn't be any
witnesses.

Unfortunately for Levi, he was often
taken to the barn, where nobody would

only see, nobody would hear what was
going on. Levi would get beat with

that my father had within reach.

His fist, pipe, shovel, pitchforks,
belt, electric cattle

prod.

You name it, it was used as a weapon
against my brother.

Erin says she also takes her share of
abuse.

So he would tell me that my mother would
not be proud of who I was. He would

tell me that I was fat or that I had a
big ass.

Katie, for the most part, says she
manages to escape her father's wrath.

For me, it was more, again, you know,
backing me into a corner, squeezing my

arm, bending my arm, just real, a show
of strength without necessarily having

to leave marks.

My father was very careful not to hit us
in our faces, although that was not off

limits either.

But he was very cautious to not leave
overt marks.

So at least anywhere that would be
visible to the family or the public.

Aaron says their father beats them
because they figured out his secret.

Their mother's death was no accident.

Levi and I would talk and put pieces
together and be like, okay, well, this

doesn't make sense. Like, do you think
this is what happened? Because this is

what I'm pretty sure happened.

When they're teenagers, Erin says she
and Levi actually confront their father

about the cabin fire.

And his concern was how would the
community perceive his own children

questioning, you know, if he murdered,
you know, his first wife and our mother.

And that was his big concern, his
perception within the community.

Next on American Greed, it's deja vu at
the Carlson home as fire strikes again.

I'll go to my grave thinking that he was
involved in that barn. How many times

can you do it?

And every time he got away with it.

In 2002, the Carlson family farm in
central New York is the site of another

unexplained tragedy.

One summer night, their horse barn
catches fire. I remember waking up, so

room in the house had a window that
directly faced the barn, and I remember

waking up and seeing the blaze. Three of
Carl's prized horses die in the fire,

and the barn is destroyed.

But there's a silver lining for Carl.

He receives a hefty insurance payout. So
right before the barn fire, he went to

the insurance agent, upped the insurance
on the barn. So I believe it was well

over $100 ,000 on the barn and three
horses.

Although Carl benefits from yet another
fire and payout, neither the police nor

insurers appear to be suspicious.

And I'm saying how many insurance
payouts does somebody need?

For the pattern to me was glaring.

At the time of the barn fire, Katie and
her half -brother are the only children

that live at home.

Earlier that year, oldest sister Erin
graduates from high school and enlists

the Air Force.

Their brother Levi moves out several
months earlier at the age of 16.

Levi lives with various relatives and
eventually gets married to his high

sweetheart, Cassie.

He talked quite frequently about his
mom. He loved her so dearly. He had told

several times that he thought his father
had killed his mother.

The couple eventually have two
daughters.

They were his whole world. I think he
wanted to be a better dad than what his

dad was to him.

Cassie says Levi keeps in touch with his
father for the benefit of his younger

sister and half -brother.

So that's why he always continued to
deal with his dad as much as he could

because he wanted to be there for his
siblings.

But despite their contentious
relationship, Carl offers to do

Levi and his children.

In late 2008, he recommends Levi
purchase a life insurance policy.

Carl even offers to get the process
started.

Carl went to the insurance agent to his
office. I believe he paid cash for the

premium, the first premium, which the
agent thought was unusual.

The policy is for a whopping $700 ,000.

Remarkably, Carl is named the
beneficiary of the policy.

How did you think that was a logical way
to represent their client?

Was it really in his best interest?

And oh, by the way, you named the father
the beneficiary?

The guy has two little children he's
responsible for.

You didn't name them beneficiary?

17 days later, on November 20th, Carl
asks Levi to work on his truck.

But before they go to the farm, Carl
tells Levi they need to go to the town

Geneva to handle some paperwork.

But before his son came down, Carl wrote
out a will, but he took his son to a

local bank.

Carl thought that by having this
document notarized, it would be an

will. The will gave everything to Carl,
the father, and it also said Levi does

not want to be on life support.

But just why would Levi sign such a
will?

I think that Levi was so desperate to
repair his relationship with our father

that he, unfortunately, put blind faith
in him and believed that

this really was in the best interest of
his girls.

A couple of hours later, the father and
son are back at the farm to work on the

truck. Levi has no idea what is about to
happen.

Ma 'am?

Police investigators say Levi's death
appears to be an accident.

Because farm accidents are actually not
uncommon here.

Farming is pretty dangerous work and
accidents happen all the time.

At this moment, no one else in the
family knows about the will or the life

insurance policy.

But suspicions remain.

And so I called my mom, and then I
called my dad, and I said, Dad, I don't

what he stands to gain from this, but I
know he did it.

Next on American Greed, an unexpected
phone call exposes Carl's deeds and

investigators close in. You're a money
-driven individual, Carl, period.

$700 ,000 is what you would gain from
his death.

$200 ,000 is what you had gained from
your wife's death in California.

After

Carl

gets his $700 ,000 payout from Levi's
insurance policy, he goes on a shopping

spree. Dad had a F -150, and then he had
a Ford Ranger. There were

tractors and trailers and duck, lots and
lots of duck.

Carl has big plans for his ducks. He
buys thousands of them. He invested most

the money in a duck farm. He was going
to raise these ducks and sell the duck

meat to New York City restaurants.

In the four years after Levi's death,
Carl appears to live the good life.

But in 2012, his marriage to Cindy
begins to crumble and they split.

In the midst of the divorce drama, in
the spring of 2012, the sheriff's office

in Seneca County, New York, gets a
surprising phone call from Cindy's

who lives in Kentucky.

She asked, did you investigate the death
of Levi Carlson? So she said, well, you

might want to look into that a little
more.

The cousin tells John Clear that Cindy
suspects Carl murdered Levi, but is

hesitant about contacting authorities.

She says, well, there was a suspicious
death back in 1991 in California, and

guys really need to look at this closer.

John Clear begins making calls and
quickly finds out that the cousin's

checks out.

His next call is to Cindy Carlson. I
said I'm calling you to tell you that

reopened the investigation to the death
of your son.

And she said, thank God you called.

Clear says Cindy tells them she is
afraid for her life.

She said, I've always thought that maybe
he killed, you know, Levi.

In fact, she told us, I've moved out.
You know, we're separated.

I'm going to get divorced because I'm
afraid he might come after me.

But the sheriff's office needs more
proof.

They want Cindy to wear a wire.

Cindy agrees and calls Carl. She asks
him to meet her at a restaurant in

Waterloo. She tells Carl the meeting is
about getting back together.

But we deliberately picked that
restaurant because there was no private

It's all open tables so that people can
overhear. We put some undercover

officers in the restaurant with them.

for safety purposes, but also as
witnesses.

While Carl never openly admits to
killing Levi, investigators say he

just enough for them to take action.

But he did say some very disturbing
things.

He

said

that he took advantage of the
opportunity.

What parent talks about the death of
their child as an opportunity?

The day after Thanksgiving, sheriff's
officers bring Carl Carlson to the

for questioning.

The interrogation lasts nine and a half
hours.

Oh, no, no, no, no.

Okay. You guys don't know what happened
that day. The day that my son died.

I found him dead.

The truck was on him.

They come in, try doing CPR, and he was
already gone.

Claire says Carlson gives them multiple
versions of that day's events.

But eventually, he starts to crack.

To kill him. No, I didn't kill him.

You did kill him.

You did kill him. I did.

Intentionally. No.

Accidentally.

Yeah, it was an accident. Ultimately, he
breaks down and tells me that he caused

the truck to fall on his son and then
walked out and left him

dying on the floor.

I mean, it was an accident.

I blame myself every day, just like you
said.

While Levi was underneath the truck,
authorities say Carl Carlson opens the

driver's side door and steps inside the
cabin, causing the jack to give.

He did that, the truck fell, and then he
decided to walk away, a helpless

victim. That's murder in the second
grade.

Next on American Greed, Carl has his day
in court.

A new revelation stunned his family.

I want it known that, you know, my kids
had a bounty on their head.

In 2012, four years after the death of
Levi Carlson, police officially arrest

Carl Carlson and charge him with second
degree murder and insurance fraud.

I was definitely in shock when I was
told that dad was arrested.

I didn't think that it would ever
happen. So to hear that he had been

was a relief and like accumulation of,
you know, 20 plus years worth of

The family is stunned when they learn
the bitter truth about Levi's $700 ,000

insurance policy.

The insurance policy money explains
Carl's shopping spree, but ultimately

more questions.

If there was that level of money
available, why on God's green earth was

struggling so hard working her butt off
for those little girls?

She shouldn't have had to. That money
should have gotten her a house or a car

put the girls through school.

But that's nothing compared to what
Levi's ex -wife learns.

While meeting with police investigators,
Cassie discovers that Carl may have

been plotting more schemes.

John Clear met me in the foyer and we
walked down to his office and he opened

the conversation with, were you aware
that there were life insurance policies

your children?

Authorities say Carl took out life
insurance policies on Cassie and Levi's

daughters, each worth more than $350
,000.

Who the hell put that kind of life
insurance on a four and six year old?

Why?

That's just, that's, that's ludicrous.
That's obscene. It amazes me to this day

that you can take.

a $350 ,000 insurance policy on a child
without telling the parent that you're

doing it.

You know, he would have got at least
$600 ,000, maybe $700 ,000 by killing

two grandkids.

He was sole beneficiary on those two
policies, and those two grandkids were

going to be next. He needed the money.

Nearly a year after his arrest, in
November 2013, Carl pleads guilty to the

second -degree murder charge.

As part of his plea deal, the insurance
fraud charges are dropped.

His sentence is 15 years to life.

He is a person who can kill without
emotion, you know, to kill your own son

then not have any remorse about it.
That's not human.

Well, that's just it.

That's absolutely just it. How do you
explain that to a child that their

father's life was worthless to his
father?

That a human being is expendable for a
check.

After Carl's conviction in New York,
prosecutors in Calaveras County reopened

the case of Christina Carlson's death
back in 1991.

I was concerned because of the lack of
physical evidence. It's been 30 years,

most of the evidence was destroyed.

But while physical evidence is scant,
prosecutors do have an ace up their

sleeve. Ken Buskey is a forensic
engineer who originally investigated the

back in 1991.

He still has his case files and
testifies in court.

Yes, I know how the fire started, and
when I worked down on the carpet, I

see where kerosene had been spilled, and
it had a lot of time to wick out

through the carpet. While Buskey says
the kerosene spill on the carpet was

there's evidence that fresh kerosene was
poured throughout the cabin immediately

before the fire.

Somebody poured kerosene on purpose
outside the bathroom door, and then as

were pouring it, they worked northward
toward the child's...

the girl's bedroom.

So it was very clear that somebody
poured a kerosene immediately prior to

fire, within minutes, very few minutes.

And the only way for that kerosene to
have been ignited was somebody to use a

match or a cigarette lighter or
something like that to light it.

As for the boarded -up window in the
bathroom where Christina Carlson died,

Carl's story and the details don't add
up.

Well, there were 17 nails in that piece
of plywood.

Only, according to him, only three of
which hit wood.

The rest were in sheetrock.

It was nailed from the inside out.
Anything from the outside could have

that board in.

I had to second guess my entire life.

Sitting in the stand, it was obvious. He
did it.

In February 2020, the family finally
gets justice for Christina.

A jury finds Carlson guilty of first
-degree murder by arson.

I almost jumped up and down on the
judge's desk. That's what I felt like

The sentence was life without parole.

With the case finally in the rearview
mirror, after three grueling decades,

family says they just have one order of
business to take care of.

Levi's children still haven't seen a
dime of the $700 ,000 insurance money.

Levi's will explicitly states,

That's

what that money was intended for, to
help raise those girls, do everything

my brother can no longer do.

In addition to the insurance policies
taken out on the girls, Carl invested

,000 in a fixed annuity.

He also bought $70 ,000 annuities for
each of the granddaughters.

In late 2011 and early 2012, those
accounts were liquidated.

What I struggle with is, as power of
attorney, having documents on some of

accounts and seeing how many opened
within a year of Levi's death.

But none of the money ever ended up
going to the girl.

The advisor who set up the accounts
tells investigators that he advised

the withdrawals, calling it financially
irresponsible.

Carl's daughters want to know how much
money is left and where it went.

I think this is necessary.

The financial trail, the motive behind
all of this is very important.

There is money still lingering that my
brother wanted his children to have, and

rightfully so, they should have it.

As for Carl, with his two life
sentences, he will likely never see the

world again.

That man!

He doesn't deserve to live.

Stan, he does not deserve to live.

Say what you want to say.

I don't care. I'm not going to disagree
with you. I think he's a jackass and

deserves to die in prison.

I don't care how old he gets. I don't
care if he is 80. I think he actually

a great deal of satisfaction out of
being that person to control your last

breath. He should never get out.

Because I don't care how old he is, he
will hurt somebody else.