
We're still waiting for justice,” Bousson said. So, I definitely ramped up my activities to try and get their attention that we're still out here. “Once he was charged in New York, it gave me a glimmer of hope that maybe just because of that we could finally get some traction in Calaveras County. “It wasn't just the loss of my brother, with that one statement, it was the loss of my father, too.” “It was devastating for me to have my dad admit ,” Reynolds said. As part of his plea deal, the insurance fraud charges were dropped. Karl Karlsen pleaded guilty in November 2013 to second-degree murder for his son’s death and stated in court that the truck fell onto Levi as a result of his actions and that, even though he knew Levi was likely still alive under the truck, he made no attempt to lift it off his son or call for help. “I looked at him and I was like, ‘I know that you and I know that you killed my mother’ … and he looked at me and he smiled like a Cheshire cat and he said, ‘It's been 22 years, they haven't caught me yet and they’re not going to,’” DeRoche said. She says she confronted him about killing her brother and mother, but Karl Karlsen denied his involvement in both deaths. He was arrested in 2012 and charged with second-degree murder of his son and insurance fraud.ĭeRoche said she visited her father in jail after his arrest in Levi’s murder. “She took that out of my hands by calling Seneca County Sheriff's Office.”Īfter talking with authorities, Best agreed to wear a recording device for police while asking Karlsen questions about Levi's and Christina's deaths.ĭuring one of these recorded conversations, Karl Karlsen told Best he saw an “opportunity” and "took advantage of the situation” after the truck fell on Levi. I'm scared, but I can't go to law enforcement until we get enough evidence,’” Best said. I'm not sure, but maybe he killed Christina. “I had called my cousin.and told her my fears: ‘I think Karl might have killed Levi.

“I would be worth $1.2 million to Karl if I was dead,” Best told “20/20.”īest said she confided these findings and her concerns to her cousin, who picked up the phone and called police. Her concerns grew so strong that Best hired a private investigator to look into her husband and what he found alarmed her even more. She said she became worried that she could be Karlsen’s next victim. They remember her as a kind, fun and caring person.īy 2012, Karl Karlsen’s second wife Cindy Best said she and Karl’s marriage of nearly 20 years was falling apart.īest said that about two years after Levi Karlsen’s death she began to have serious suspicions that Karl was involved in her stepson’s and Christina Karlsen's deaths. "The DA's office said it was a good circumstantial case, but there wasn't enough to prosecute at that time," Kent said.ĭeRoche was 6 years old and Reynolds was 4 years old when their mother died.

He also said he wanted to travel to New York state to interview Karlsen but was told that there were not enough funds for such a trip. Kent said he "never saw" Buske's report and "didn't know" who Buske was. law enforcement didn't seem to be doing anything,” Reynolds said. “The insurance company did a very good investigation but. Despite the fire investigators’ findings, the insurance company paid out the claim. He determined there was evidence that the fire was set deliberately. The insurance company also conducted an investigation, hiring Ken Buske to look into the Murphys' house fire. "There was concern that something wasn’t right." "I thought the circumstances of the fire were suspicious," Kent said.

Carl Kent, an investigator for the California Department of Forestry, investigated the fire.
